Battle with Massed Troops

AnonymousBashu Publishing House · ChinaSep 2020

3.7

Word count: 338 words
Chapters: 3

Summary

Zhong Zhan (Combat with Superior Numbers) is a chapter from the ancient Chinese military treatise Baizhan Qilue (A Hundred Stratagems). It sets out the principles to observe when one's forces outnumber the enemy's. In such a situation, it argues, one should not seek a decisive battle in narrow, confined terrain; instead one should choose open, flat ground so that troops can deploy, advance, withdraw, and maneuver freely. In an age when cold weapons were the main means of warfare, numerical strength was undoubtedly a basic condition for victory, but the advantages or disadvantages of terrain were also an important objective factor. A skilled commander should know not only what tactics suit what forces and what weapons, but also how to choose favorable terrain suited to one's own side and not the enemy's.

Editor's review

Though brief, this book is a concise discussion of the relationship between troop strength and terrain in ancient Chinese military thought. Drawing from Baizhan Qilue the specific situation of "our forces many, the enemy's few," it makes clear a point easily overlooked: numbers do not guarantee victory; what matters is whether forces are placed on terrain that allows them to deploy. The text stresses that open, flat ground permits flexible movement, while confined terrain can turn superior numbers into a burden. This attention to objective conditions reflects the practical bent of ancient strategists. For general readers, its value lies not only in military matters but in offering a way to analyze problems: first examine one's own conditions, then the advantages and disadvantages of the environment, and finally decide how to act. The writing is concise, making it suitable as an introductory piece to military classics and for reading alongside the terrain chapter of Sun Tzu's Art of War.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Beginners interested in ancient Chinese military thought
Readers who enjoy drawing management insights from short classical texts
Professionals who need to match resources to conditions
Students above middle school with some grounding in classical Chinese

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting lengthy campaign histories or specific battle details
Readers with no experience of classical Chinese who are unwilling to consult annotations
Readers seeking a modern operational guide to military tactics

Reading tips

Read the original text through first, then use the annotations to clarify terms such as "confined" and "opening and closing."
After reading, try restating the principles using an ancient battle or a modern project case.
Read alongside the terrain chapter of Sun Tzu's Art of War and compare their different emphases on terrain.
Make a one-page note recording your own answer to "what should be avoided most when our forces outnumber the enemy's."

About the publisher

Bashu Publishing House China · Founded in 1983

Bashu Publishing House is a publisher centered on collating and publishing classical Chinese cultural texts, with its main publishing areas covering classical literature, Eastern philosophy, ancient poetry, and educational classics. Its library currently holds 1,075 titles, including representative works such as Dream of the Red Chamber, the Preface to the Orchid Pavilion Gathering, Renjian Cihua, and Out to the Frontier, involving authors such as Cao Xueqin, Wang Xizhi, Wang Guowei, Wang Changling, Liu Xie, and Yan Yu. These reflect the publisher's focus on literary classics, poetry criticism, and philosophical readings. Its publishing character lies in working around ancient texts and canonical works, with attention to textual collation and presentation. Public information on its more detailed publishing background and series plans is limited; this introduction is based only on the library's book information.

版权信息
正文一
正文二

FAQ

What is this military text mainly about?

It discusses how to choose terrain for battle when one's forces outnumber the enemy's. The core idea is not to fight a decisive battle in narrow, confined terrain but to choose open, flat ground where troops can deploy and maneuver freely, turning numerical advantage into a real battlefield advantage.

Can someone with no military background understand it?

Yes. The original text is short and focused, with no complex battle cases or jargon. With annotations to clarify a few key terms, the general meaning is easy to grasp. It reads more like an analytical principle than a combat order, and general readers can fully understand it at the level of ideas.

What is the relationship between this book and Baizhan Qilue?

Zhong Zhan is one chapter of Baizhan Qilue, presented here on its own. Reading it offers an early glimpse of how Baizhan Qilue organizes military principles by situation; those interested can then consult the complete work, which makes the overall framework easier to grasp.

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About the author

Anonymous Author

Anonymous is not a real personal name but a general Chinese designation for authors whose names are unknown, lost, or unsigned. Neither nationality nor dates of birth and death can be verified, and available public information is limited, so the works attributed to this name are the only basis for description. The collection holds 2,078 works under Anonymous, spanning medicine, classics, historical readings, ancient poetry, classical literature, and philosophy. Representative works include The Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon: Lingshu, Mencius, The Book of Documents, Nineteen Old Poems, Complete Song Ci, and The Peacock Flies Southeast. Most of these works took shape through long transmission and editing, emerging either from collective folk creation or from authors whose names were lost over time. In ancient China, the Book of Songs, the Great Learning, and many popular storybooks and plays were signed Anonymous because their authors could not be traced. Anonymous works cross the classics, histories, philosophical writings, medical texts, and poetry; their subjects are broad, and their styles vary from archaic simplicity to clear naturalness, making them important and influential sources for understanding ancient Chinese thought, medicine, and literature.