Harmful Warfare

AnonymousBashu Publishing House · ChinaJun 2024

2.4

Word count: 433 words
Chapters: 2

Summary

“Harmful Terrain” is a chapter on the art of war recorded in the ancient Chinese military classic Hundred Battles, Hundred Stratagems. Its title derives from the concept of “vital ground,” and its central concern is how, in defensive operations, to use strategic passes and key points to block an enemy's advance.

Editor's review

“Harmful Terrain” is the chapter in Hundred Battles, Hundred Stratagems devoted specifically to defensive operations. Its title derives from the concept of “vital ground,” and it focuses on how to rely on strategic passes and key positions to block an invading enemy. The chapter revolves around the choice of terrain, the disposition of forces, and the timing of defense, emphasizing that holding vital ground allows one to delay or even defeat an enemy at relatively low cost, embodying the ancient strategists' defensive wisdom of “using terrain to control the enemy.” Read alongside “Guest Warfare,” one on offense and one on defense, the two form a pair of keys to understanding the operational thought of Hundred Battles, Hundred Stratagems. The writing is concise and clearly directed, suited to readers interested in traditional military geography and defensive strategy, who will find it rewarding to read closely. This Bashu Publishing House edition is compact and easy to carry, suitable for reading on the go and as supplementary material for thematic study of military science. While reading, readers may consider the key points of defense in light of specific terrain conditions, turning ancient experience into a perspective for observing real-world problems.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in ancient defensive tactics and military geography
Students of the subject who wish to understand the offense-defense system of Hundred Battles, Hundred Stratagems
General readers who enjoy distilling strategic thinking from traditional classics

Not a good fit for

Technical professionals seeking modern engineering protection technology
Readers who prefer lengthy battle narratives over principled discussion

Reading tips

While reading, mark the vital terrain described in the text on a map to help understand the spatial logic of blocking an enemy from a strategic position
Read in comparison with “Guest Warfare” to sort out the key considerations of the attacker and the defender respectively
After reading, write a short summary of “how to choose vital ground” to test your understanding

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
害战

FAQ

How should the word “hai” in the chapter title “Harmful Terrain” be understood?

Here “hai” derives from the concept of “vital ground,” referring to strategically significant passes and key positions in terrain, not to “harm.” The title is meant to explain how, in defensive operations, to use vital terrain to block the enemy, seizing key positions to defeat a larger force with a smaller one and to control movement with stillness.

Will readers without a military background have trouble with this chapter?

Not much. This chapter discusses matters of principle in concise language and does not depend on complex battle examples. General readers can grasp the main idea with the help of annotations and draw analogies for daily work and life from the idea of “choosing key positions.”

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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.