Works of Gong Mu, Volume 4

Author: Gong Mu / Country: Mainland China
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2001-08-01
Features: The Book of Han·Treatise on the Arts and Literature records: “Strategies of the Warring States in thirty-three chapters was compiled and edited by Liu Xiang of the Han Dynasty.” Liu Xiang’s Preface states: “The stratagems books I examined at the imperial library were disorganized and mixed. There were also eight chapters titled Strategies by State, which were insufficient. I arranged the state-specific chapters in chronological order, supplemented the missing parts by categorizing them, eliminated duplicates, and obtained thirty-three chapters. The original text had many errors, with characters often missing half or miswritten (e.g., writing ‘Zhao’ as ‘Xiao’ or ‘Qi’ as ‘Li’), and such cases were numerous. The imperial library’s original title varied, sometimes called Strategies of the Warring States, State Affairs, Short and Long, Stories and Discourses, Long Book, or Revised Book. I believed that the strategists of the Warring States period, who advised states, should be called Strategies of the Warring States. The events following the Spring and Autumn Period and ending with the rise of the Chu and Han dynasties spanned two hundred forty-five years, all of which were recorded in bamboo slips and could be copied for preservation.” Thus, it is clear that Liu Xiang merely edited and removed duplicates from Strategies of the Warring States, determining its title. Later generations mistakenly attributed it entirely to Liu Xiang, even claiming it was a product of his own philosophy. This is a misunderstanding. Later scholars such as Mou Mo of the Qing Dynasty and Luo Genze and Zhu Ziqing of modern times have compilation was done by Cuo Tong during the Qin and Han periods. However, even Cuo Tong could only compile and supplement, based on stratagems and discourses from the Warring States period. According to the Treatise on the Arts and Literature, Su Qin had a book of thirty-one chapters, Zhang Yi ten chapters, and other strategists also had their own writings. These books were undoubtedly important sources for organizing and editing Strategies of the Warring States. Notably, in 1973, the silk manuscript Strategies of the was unearthed from Tomb No. 3 of the Mawangdui Han tombs in Changsha. Of its twenty-seven chapters, ten appeared in Strategies of the Warring States, eight in the Records of the Grand Historian, and after removing duplicates, only eleven were recorded elsewhere, with the remaining sixteen being lost works. Additionally, it preserved fourteen letters and conversations about Su Qin, only two of which were previously recorded. This confirms that before Liu Xiang compiled Strategies of the Warring States, there were indeed many small pamphlets recording the discourses of Warring States strategists. Therefore, despite its late compilation, Strategies of the Warring States must be considered a work from the Pre-Qin period. The thirty-three chapters of Strategies of the Warring States include one each from the Eastern and Western Zhou and Zhongshan states, five from Qin, six from Qi, four each from Chu and Zhao, three each from Han and Yan, and one combined chapter for Song and Wei. Given that the text was largely composed by Warring States strategists, its style tends to be elaborate and persuasive, with an emphasis on vivid analogies and metaphors, which is natural. This is not only because they needed such techniques for political debate but also because they traveled extensively, gained broad knowledge, and mastered the lively languages of different regions. Thus, Strategies of the Warring States contains a large number of fables. As a special literary form, fables had fully matured by the late Warring States period. Therefore, the fables in Strategies of the Warring States are generally lively, concise, profound, witty, and wise, making them worthy of attention. The fables in Strategies of the Warring States differ significantly from those in other philosophical texts such as Mencius, Zhuangzi, Han Feizi, and the Ritual of the Lu Family. While each philosophical text has its own unique characteristics, they share a common feature: fables are often tools for explaining the ideologies of various schools, carrying the distinct ideological colors of their respective schools. In contrast, the fables in Strategies of the Warring States are often impromptu creations by strategists in political and diplomatic settings. This may be related to the ideological characteristics of the strategists. The strategists were a school with little influence from Confucian thought. Many of them were politically opportunistic, shifting alliances between Qin and Chu, adapting to circumstances without firm principles or loyalty to a single ruler, and lacking a complete ideological system. As a result, their fables lack the systematicity and internal coherence found in other philosophical texts. The purpose of citing and creating these fables was to enhance the vividness, interest, and novelty of their persuasive arguments, using clever analogies to influence rulers. Thus, these fables possess strong imagery and persuasiveness. For example: P538-539