The Questions of King Wei

AnonymousBashu Publishing House · ChinaJun 2024

4.3

Word count: 1.5K words
Chapters: 2

Summary

This piece records a dialogue between Sun Bin and King Wei of Qi and Tian Ji on the use of troops. The first part proposes different methods of operation for different situations of comparative enemy and own strength. The latter part mainly points out that the most important thing in using troops is to "attack where the enemy must defend."

Editor's review

"King Wei Asks" is a lost chapter of Sun Bin's Art of War preserved in the Han bamboo slips from Yinqueshan. In dialogue form it records Sun Bin's discussion with King Wei of Qi and Tian Ji on military strategy. Its weight lies in not dealing in empty principles but in giving responses layer by layer according to the comparative strength of the two armies, breaking dilemmas such as "defeating a larger force with a smaller one" and "overcoming the strong with the weak" into workable judgments. The latter section proposes "attack where the enemy must defend," stressing control of the battlefield initiative and striking at what the enemy must rescue, which reflects Sun Bin's attention to the rhythm of attack and psychological contest. This Bashu Press edition includes collation and annotation and suits readers new to excavated texts. Read it as a practical exercise in pre-Qin military thought: you see how military method meshes with actual combat, and you sense the interpretive tension created by the fragmentary bamboo text. It is brief but rewards repeated reading, and comparing it with relevant chapters of Sunzi's Art of War reveals both similarities and differences.

Who it's for

A good fit for

General readers interested in pre-Qin military thought and Sun Bin's Art of War
Students of excavated texts, bamboo-slip collation, and paleographic interpretation
Enthusiasts who want a short military text to grasp ancient operational logic
Teachers of history and literature who need pre-Qin military material for teaching

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting complete campaign narratives or a long systematic art of war
Beginners without classical Chinese who are unwilling to read annotations
Readers seeking only modern management-style inspirational readings

Reading tips

Read the annotated main text first, then look back at the damaged passages and note the collators' grounds for supplying characters.
Compare chapters of Sunzi's Art of War on emptiness and solidity, attack and defense, to see where Sun Bin's "attack where the enemy must defend" places its emphasis.
Tabulate the different situations of comparative strength and observe the progressive logic of the methods given in the questions and answers.
After reading, write a short comment on "attack where the enemy must defend" to test whether you truly understand its meaning of initiative.

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.

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FAQ

How should "attack where the enemy must defend" be understood?

According to this text, it stresses that in using troops one must seize the initiative and strike at points the enemy must defend, putting the opponent on the defensive, rather than dividing one's forces to guard everywhere. It is Sun Bin's high-level summary of offensive initiative and should not be taken simply as attacking without defending.

What is the relation between this text and Sunzi's Art of War?

Both belong to the pre-Qin military tradition, but "King Wei Asks" is a lost chapter of Sun Bin's Art of War found among the Yinqueshan Han bamboo slips; it discusses tactics under specific comparisons of strength in dialogue form. It can be read alongside Sunzi's Art of War but is not the same text.

Can I read it without a foundation in classical Chinese?

Yes, but an annotated edition with translation is advised: read the notes first, then the original. The text is not long; the main obstacles are damaged slips and terminology, which an annotated edition lets you work through step by step.

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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.