WèiLiáozǐ 尉繚子
Master Wèi-Liáo attributed to 尉繚 (Wèi Liáo, Warring States, 周)
About the work
A five-juan, 24-篇 Warring States military-administrative classic traditionally attributed to Wèi Liáo. Two distinct historical figures named Wèi Liáo are associated with the work — one serving King Huì of Liáng (369–319 BCE), one serving King Zhèng of Qín (later Qín Shǐhuángdì, r. 246–210 BCE). The Yínquèshān 銀雀山 bamboo-strip find of 1972 confirms the work as substantially pre-Hàn, with the recovered fragments closely matching the received 24-篇 form. Within the Wǔ jīng qī shū canon (1080) this is the fourth-ranked work.
The work’s distinctive feature is its dual emphasis on military and administrative law (xíngfǎ 刑法), making it methodologically more proximate to the Fǎjiā (Legalist) tradition than the other military classics.
Abstract
The WèiLiáozǐ is the fourth Wǔ jīng qī shū military classic. Composition window: Warring States, with the Yínquèshān find establishing a pre-Hàn nucleus. The frontmatter brackets to ca. -350 to -200.
The bibliographic record: Hàn shū yìwén zhì (records Wèi Liáo in Bīngxíngshì); Suí shū jīngjí zhì; Wǔ jīng qī shū canonisation; SKQS Zǐbù — Bīngjiā lèi. Yínquèshān bamboo strips (1972).
Translations and research
- Ralph D. Sawyer, The Seven Military Classics of Ancient China (1993) — translation.
- Yín-què-shān studies for the recovered text.
Links
- Yínquèshān bamboo strips (1972).
- Kyoto Zinbun, Sìkù quánshū zǒngmù tíyào
- Wikipedia
- Wikidata