| Baguazhen | |||||||
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 Wubei Zhi's diagrams ofbaguazhen | |||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 八卦陣 | ||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 八卦阵 | ||||||
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Baguazhen (Chinese:八卦陣;pinyin:bāguàzhèn;lit. 'eight trigrams (military) formation') orBagua Formation, also known asJiujun (lit. 'Nine armies') orJiǔgōng bāguàzhèn (九宮八卦陣; 'Nine palaces', 'eight trigrams formation') orBazhen (八陣; 'eight formations') is a military formation originating from China, based on the principles ofBagua orQimen Dunjia. The formation has been used throughout Chinese history and attributed to many famous military figures, most notably toZhuge Liang. In Song dynasty sources, thebazhen is also alternatively known asjiujunzhen (九軍陣; 'nine-army formation').[1]
Generally, thebazhen is a mass military formation, where the army are divided into eight units deployed at cardinal and ordinal directions, often surrounding a central commanding unit. The exact composition and the names of the regiments in thebaguazhen varies in different sources, but the key feature of the formation is its defensive capability and adaptability, by quickly mobilizing and shifting unit ranks on the field, to cover for each unit's weaknesses.
InQuestions and Replies between Tang Taizong and Li Weigong, the formation is described as being composed of large, medium and small units, with each unit being composed of, and able to divide into, smaller battalions. Roughly, the large unit is composed of eight medium units, and the medium units can be split into six small squad units, making a total of 64 squad units per formation. Some sources also call for an additional shock cavalry numbering in 24 squads, bringing the number to a total of 88. The central unit would be composed of small number of elite troops, protected by large number of movable infantry. Each unit situated in each direction could respond to any attack and function as each others' defence and reserve, by shifting their positions and surrounding the attacker from all sides, or moving its weaker units behind the stronger units. Other sources such asTaiping Yulan also records the use ofwar wagons, such as the"deer-antler wagon" (鹿角車), to obstruct the enemy while providing added protection and quick transport for the soldiers.[1][2]
The regiments are also separated intozheng (正)-troops or regular troops, andqi (奇)-troops, or special troops, respectively. Thezheng andqi are based onSun Tzu's tactic of applying direct, ordinary force to engage in battle and for indirect, inordinary force to secure victory. ("凡戰者，以正合，以奇勝").[3]
The names of the eight units vary. In the dialog between Li Jing and Li Shimin, it is said that the regiments are namedTian (天, 'heaven'),Di (地, 'earth'),Feng (風, 'wind'),Yun (雲, 'cloud'),Long (龍, 'dragon'),Hu (虎, 'tiger'),Niao (鳥, 'bird') andShe (蛇, 'snake'), with heaven, earth, wind and cloud symbolising flags and banners, and dragon, tiger, bird and snake corresponded to squad units. These units are further categorized into fourzheng-units and fourqi-units, respectively.[4]
InWujing Zongyao, the eight formations are the 'sky-formation' (天陣), 'earth-formation' (地陣), 'wind-formation' (風陣), 'cloud-formation' (雲陣), 'tiger wing-formation' (虎翼陣), 'snake coil-formation' (蛇盤陣), 'flying dragon-formation'(飛龍陣), and 'bird soaring-formation' (鳥翔陣), with each having their assigned position within the formation, with the animal formations supporting the elemental formations, while lesser elemental forms support the greater.
Wang Yingling of theSong dynasty records in the bookXiaoxue Ganzhu (小学绀珠) that the names of the eight formations areDongdang (洞當),Zhonghuang (中黃),Longteng (龍騰),Niaofei (鳥飛),Zhechong (折衝),Huyi (虎翼),Woji (握機), andLianheng (連衡).
Other sources claim the eight are named after the eight gates ofQimen Dunjia, calledXiu (休),Sheng (生),Shang (伤),Du (杜),Jing (景),Si (死),Jing (惊), andKai (开).
The earliest mention of the military formation was fromSun Bin's Art of War during theWarring States period. The formation is organised through "dividing the army detachment into three units, each placing an elite vanguard and a rear-guard as reserve. Each unit would engage against the enemy in battle, while leaving the other two in reserve and to consolidate the gains." The position of the units would shift based on the strength of the enemy; if the enemy is weak, the elite troops will be sent to mount a shock attack to gain an advantage, if the enemy is strong, the weakest troops will be sent first to bait them. Sun Bin also advices using terrain as advantage before placing the formation. "When land is flat, there should be more armed chariots; when the terrain is difficult, more cavalry should be sent: and when narrow and blocked, there should be more archers sent."[5]
By the time of theEastern Han dynasty, thebaguazhen became regularly used in warfare and military drills. GeneralDou Xian notably defeated theXiongnu using thebazhen formation.[1]
Thebaguazhen saw notable innovation during theThree Kingdoms period byZhuge Liang, who made improvements on the formation for use of military drills and as defensive tactic againstCao Wei's cavalry. Zhuge Liang's tactics overall favored smaller elite units and careful, deliberate engagements, so the formation proved to be effective in combating against the stronger and more numerous armies of Cao Wei, while keepingShu Han's losses to a minimum. Zhuge Liang made additional improvements to thebazhen through the addition of a command structure centered within the formation and extensive use of crossbows supplemented by a defensive spear-infantry and war wagons against Cao Wei's heavy cavalry to deadly effect. Thebazhen enabled Zhuge Liang's army to be disciplined and flexible, quick to adapt to multiple terrains and situations, but was slow and plodding when it came to consolidating their conquests and retreating.[6][2]
Despite these flaws, later military officers emulated Zhuge Liang's successes by studying thebaguazhen, which became attributed to Zhuge Liang alone. Examples of this includeMa Long during hisconquest of Liangzhou in 279, where he utilized the formation and building protective wagons to guard against arrows and other ambushes, while his soldiers were able to move while fighting, and the enemies' arrows were unable to hit them.[7] Gao Lü ofNorthern Wei studied and advocated the use of Zhuge Liang'sbazhen to defend against invasions from nomadic tribes.[8]
InQuestions and Replies between Tang Taizong and Li Weigong, thebaguazhen was discussed in great detail. Following on the principles ofbazhen,Li Jing developed a new military formation named"Liuhuazhen" (Chinese:六花陣;lit. 'six-flower formation' ), which similarly divided the armies into battalions arranged around a central unit, with stronger units protecting the weaker ones and able to shift positions quickly.[3][9]
The laterSong dynasty continued to use thebazhen as part of its military strategy, partially based on Li Jing's tactical formations, to better combat the superior cavalry of various northern peoples such as theLiao orJurchen-Jin. InWujing Zongyao, detailed instructions and variations were provided for the formation.Emperor Taizong of Song utilized the"Benchao bazhenfa" (本朝八阵法); the formation is composed of around fourteen-thousand mixed infantry and cavalry, with an additional team of fifty men, which were divided into 280 teams (200 infantry teams and 80 cavalry teams). The teams are organized into seven detachments of central, left and right guards, as well as left and right vanguards and rear-guards. The units would be arranged into tight files of 10-men, and the units arranged to leave enough space in between each other for another unit to occupy. Each unit would complement the other, and defend the rank-and-file next to it in the left. The formation has eight gates, which can quickly close in and surround the enemy from two sides. When attacking, the left and right units would move out to form a pincer attack, and specialqi-units are sent to distract and strike in the opposite direction of the intended target to allow the regularzheng-units to attack it and consolidate.[10] The study ofbaguazhen was not limited to the Song, asEmperor Zhangzong of Jindynasty notably discussed thebazhen with his chancellor to learn from military tactics of the Song so to better engage their military.[11]
（隆依八陣圖作偏箱車，地廣則鹿角車營，路狹則為木屋施于車上，且戰且前，弓矢所及，應弦而倒。）
(修立戰場，十日一習，採諸葛亮八陣之法，為平地禦寇之方，使其解兵革之宜，識旌旗之節，器械精堅，必堪禦寇。使將有定兵，兵有常主，上下相信，晝夜如一。）
（法曰：八陣者，蓋本裴緒新令方、圓、牝、牡、沖方、罘、車輪、雁行之名也。今約李靖陣法，用一萬四千人為之馬步軍，益以五十人為一隊，計二百八十隊，步軍二百隊，馬軍八十隊，分為中軍、左右虞候、左右前後七軍。凡布陣，一卒占地二步，一馬縱橫二步，陣中每十人為列，皆面面相向，背背相承，陣間容陣，隊間容隊。大抵前禦其前，後禦其後，左防其左，右防其右。陣有八門，所謂四頭八尾，觸處為首，敵沖其中，兩頭俱至者也。其駐隊者，即今之陣腳兵也。戰鋒隊、戰隊、跳蕩、奇兵者，即今之陣內戰兵及無地分兵也。右虞候、右軍者，即今之先鋒、策先鋒將也。前軍、後軍者，即今之左助、右助將也。左虞候、左軍者，即今之殿後、策殿後將也。但古今玄立其名，故學者感而難曉。每出戰，則馬步叠用，更戰更息，循環無窮。戰鋒隊出，則為銳陣，狀如鼎足，左右戰隊各分為兩列，如雁行翼之。故以正合，以奇正者，陣也，金鼓之嚴衛，將帥之大防，奇兵之機要。奇因正則出不意，掩不備，欲圖西北，先擊東南，視彼虛實，沖其心腹，可以決勝矣。）