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TheSeven Military Classics (traditional Chinese:武經七書;simplified Chinese:武经七书;pinyin:Wǔjīngqīshū;Wade–Giles:Wu ching ch'i shu) were seven important military texts of ancientChina, which also includedSun-tzu'sThe Art of War. The texts werecanonized under this name during the 11th century AD, and from the time of theSong dynasty, were included in most militaryleishu.[1]Emperor Shenzong, the sixth emperor of theSong dynasty, determined which texts would be included in this anthology in 1080.[2] For imperial officers, either some or all of the works were required reading to merit promotion, like the requirement for allbureaucrats to learn and know the work ofConfucius.The Art of War was translated intoTangut with commentary.[3][4]
According to Ralph D. Sawyer and Mei-chün Sawyer, who created one of the latest translations, the Seven Military Classics include the following texts:[5]
There are no other known variations of the Seven Military Classics anthology with alternating members but the constituent works themselves have had many multiple versions, especiallyThe Art of War, which has had at least several dozen different translations toEnglish in the 20th century alone.
Despite prominence of military texts in theYi Zhou shu, none of the anthology chapters were regarded as classics.[6]
There were manyanthologies with different notations and analyses by scholars throughout the centuries leading up to the present versions in Western publishing. TheKangxi Emperor of theQing dynasty commented on the seven military classics, stating, "I have read all of the seven books, among them there are some materials that are not necessarily right and there are superstitious stuff can be used by bad people."
Members of theChinese Communist Party also studied the texts during theChinese Civil War as well as many European and American military minds.[1]
The Art of War was studied by warring Japanese clans during internal civil wars such as theGenpei War, theSengoku Jidai, and theBoshin War in Japan.[7][8]
Chinese military works like Su Shu, San Liu,Six Secret Teachings andArt of War were translated into Manchu.[9][10][11][12] Manchus used Manchu translations of the Chinese novelRomance of the Three Kingdoms to learn military strategy.[13]
