Close Combat

AnonymousBashu Publishing House · ChinaJul 2024

1.6

Word count: 137 words
Chapters: 2

Summary

Whenever our army and the enemy face each other across a river, and we wish to attack at close range, we should instead make a show of attacking from afar. We must set up many decoy forces and cross at distant points up and down the river. The enemy will surely divide his troops to respond, and then we can secretly move our forces to strike at close range; his army can be defeated. The rule says: When near, make a show of being far.

Editor's review

Although titled "Close Combat," this text does not actually discuss hand-to-hand fighting but a tactical principle of ancient river warfare: when drawn up across a river from the enemy, one who wishes to attack at close range deliberately makes a show of attacking from afar, setting up many decoy forces and crossing at distant points up and down the river to divide the enemy's strength, then secretly moving troops to strike at close range and win. The text is concise and focuses on the military maxim "when near, make a show of being far," a typical fragment of the traditional military thought of "showing form." Its value lies in presenting, in extremely brief language, the combination of tactical design and psychological maneuver: decoy forces create misjudgment, the divided enemy exposes weaknesses, and a secretly moved force delivers the decisive blow—three steps linked in sequence. The book offers no lengthy exposition and is suitable as supplementary material for studying military texts or as an introductory reading for understanding ancient river warfare and the tactics of showing form. When reading, consider its applicable limits in light of ancient battles and geographical conditions, and avoid treating it as a universal tactical template.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Beginning readers interested in ancient military texts and tactical thought
Enthusiasts studying the strategies of showing form and decoy forces in traditional military thought
Readers who need short military texts for teaching or reading-group discussion

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting systematic military theory or complete battle analysis
Readers seeking modern military training or practical combat guidance
Readers who prefer long narratives and rich detail about battles

Reading tips

First read the text through and mark the four steps—decoy forces, distant crossing, dividing the enemy, and secret strike—to clarify the tactical chain.
Using maps or accounts of ancient river battles, imagine the geographical conditions of facing an enemy across a river and test the feasibility of this tactic.
Read it alongside passages on showing form in The Art of War to compare differences in expression and emphasis.
After reading, retell the tactical sequence in your own words to check whether you truly understand the logic of "when near, make a show of being far."

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
近战

FAQ

Is this book about hand-to-hand combat?

No. "Close combat" here refers to the tactical intention of fighting the enemy at close range. The text discusses how, in river warfare, one may use a show of distance and decoy forces to cover a close-range strike; this belongs to the strategy of showing form in ancient military texts and has nothing to do with hand-to-hand fighting.

How long is the content, and how difficult is it to read?

The available information shows that the text is extremely concise, developing a single tactical principle without complex annotation or lengthy discussion. Readers with basic competence in classical Chinese can grasp its general meaning, and it is suitable for use as short military reading material.

What is the core logic of this tactic?

The core is "when near, make a show of being far": wishing to attack at close range, one instead makes a show of crossing at a distance, using decoy forces to divide the enemy's strength, then secretly sending elite troops to strike at close range. The key is to create misjudgment so that the enemy exhausts his strength in the wrong direction.

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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.