The Ssŭ K‘u Ch‘üan Shu (ch. 99, f. 1) remarks that the oldest three treatises on war, Sun Tzŭ, Wu Tzŭ and the Ssŭ-ma Fa, are, generally speaking, only concerned with things strictly military—the art of producing, collecting, training and drilling troops, and the correct theory with regard to measures of expediency, laying plans, transport of goods and the handling of soldiers[[159]]—in strong contrast to later works, in which the science of war is usually blended with metaphysics, divination and magical arts in general.
3. 六韜 Liu T‘ao, in 6 chüan or 60 chapters. Attributed to 呂望 Lü Wang (or Lü 尙 Shang, also known as 太公 T‘ai Kung) of the 12th century B.C.[[160]] But its style does not belong to the era of the Three Dynasties.[[161]] 陸德明 Lu Tê-ming (550–625 A.D.) mentions the work, and enumerates the headings of the six sections, 文, 武, 虎, 豹, 龍 and 犬, so that the forgery cannot have been later than the Sui dynasty.
4. 尉繚子 Wei Liao Tzŭ, in 5 chüan. Attributed to Wei Liao (4th cent. B.C.), who studied under the famous 鬼谷子 Kuei-ku Tzŭ. The 漢志, under 兵家, mentions a book of Wei Liao in 31 chapters, whereas the text we possess contains only 24. Its matter is sound enough in the main, though the strategical devices differ considerably from those of the Warring States period.[[162]] It has been furnished with a commentary by the well-known Sung philosopher 張載 Chang Tsai.
5. 三略 San Lüeh, in 3 chüan. Attributed to 黃石公 Huang-shih Kung, a legendary personage who is said to have bestowed it on Chang Liang (d. B.C. 187) in an interview on a bridge.[[163]] But here again, the style is not that of works dating from the Ch‘in or Han period. The Han Emperor Kuang Wu [A.D. 25–57] apparently quotes from it in one of his proclamations; but the passage in question may have been inserted later on, in order to prove the genuineness of the work. We shall not be far out if we refer it to the Northern Sung period [420–478 A.D.], or somewhat earlier.[[164]]
6. 李衞公問對 Li Wei Kung Wên Tui, in 3 sections. Written in the form of a dialogue between T‘ai Tsung and his great general 李靖 Li Ching, it is usually ascribed to the latter. Competent authorities consider it a forgery, though the author was evidently well versed in the art of war.[[165]]
7. 李靖兵法 Li Ching Ping Fa (not to be confounded with the foregoing) is a short treatise in 8 chapters, preserved in the T‘ung Tien, but not published separately. This fact explains its omission from the Ssŭ K‘u Ch‘üan Shu.
8. 握奇經 Wu Ch‘i Ching,[[166]] in 1 chüan. Attributed to the legendary minister 風后 Fêng Hou, with exegetical notes by 公孫宏 Kung-sun Hung of the Han dynasty (d. B.C. 121), and said to have been eulogised by the celebrated general 馬隆 Ma Lung (d. A.D. 300). Yet the earliest mention of it is in the 宋志. Although a forgery, the work is well put together.[[167]]
Considering the high popular estimation in which 諸葛亮 Chu-ko Liang has always been held, it is not surprising to find more than one work on war ascribed to his pen. Such are (1) the 十六策 Shih Liu Ts‘ê (1 chüan), preserved in the 永樂大典 Yung Lo Ta Tien; (2) 將苑 Chiang Yüan (1 ch.); and (3) 心書 Hsin Shu (1 ch.), which steals wholesale from Sun Tzŭ. None of these has the slightest claim to be considered genuine.
Most of the large Chinese encyclopaedias contain extensive sections devoted to the literature of war. The following references may be found useful:—
通典 T‘ung Tien (circâ 800 A.D.), ch. 148–162.