The Six Secret Teachings (Brain-Boosting Volume)

Name: The Six Secret Teachings (Brain-Boosting Volume)
ISBN: 9787560128900

郑成刚Jilin University Press · ChinaApr 2025

4.0

Word count: 69 words
Chapters: 13
ISBN: 9787560128900

Report an error Find this book

Summary

This book covers the Wen Tao, including the First: Civil Tutor, the Second: Fullness and Emptiness, the Third: State Affairs, the Fourth: Great Ceremony, the Fifth: Clear Instructions, the Sixth: Six Guards, the Seventh: Guarding the Territory, the Eighth: Guarding the State, the Ninth: Honoring the Worthy, the Tenth: Recommending the Worthy, the Eleventh: Rewards and Punishments, and the Twelfth: The Way of War; the Wu Tao, including the Thirteenth: Launching the Campaign, the Fourteenth: Civil Launching, the Fifteenth: Civil Attacks, the Sixteenth: Compliant Launching, and the Seventeenth: Three Doubts; the Long Tao, including the Eighteenth: Royal Wings, the Nineteenth: On Generals, the Twentieth: Selecting Generals, the Twenty-First: Installing Generals, the Twenty-Second: General's Authority, the Twenty-Third: Encouraging the Army, the Twenty-Fourth: Secret Tallies, the Twenty-Fifth: Secret Letters, the Twenty-Sixth: Military Momentum, the Twenty-Seventh: Surprise Troops, the Twenty-Eighth: Five Tones, the Twenty-Ninth: Signs of War, and the Thirtieth: Farming Implements.

Editor's review

Six Secret Teachings is a famous ancient Chinese military treatise. Cast as a dialogue between King Wen and King Wu of Zhou and the Grand Duke, it discusses statecraft and warfare across sections such as the Civil, Martial, and Dragon Teachings. This edition was compiled by Zheng Chenggang and published by Jilin University Press under the title's "Enlightenment Volume" designation. Its table of contents retains a broad range of chapters, including Civil Tutor, Fullness and Emptiness, State Affairs, Great Ceremony, Six Guards, Honoring the Worthy, Rewards and Punishments, the Way of War, On Generals, Selecting Generals, Encouraging the Army, Secret Tallies, Secret Letters, and Farming Implements. The content spans political strategy, selecting and appointing the worthy, principles of reward and punishment, and military organization. It is not solely about battlefield engagement; it also concerns governance and personnel management, and offers reference value for understanding traditional strategic thinking. The "Enlightenment" label signals that readers can draw inspiration for decision-making, judging people, and coordination, rather than copying ancient battle methods. Readers should keep the historical context in mind and distinguish universally relevant ways of thinking from institutional designs specific to their historical conditions.

Who it's for

A good fit for

General readers interested in ancient military treatises and strategic thought
Professionals seeking management insights from traditional classics
Students and enthusiasts studying ancient Chinese military thought
Readers who enjoy reading pre-Qin classics in question-and-answer form

Not a good fit for

Specialist scholars needing an authoritative critical edition for academic research
Readers expecting modern military tactical guidance
Those impatient with the classical Chinese question-and-answer format

Reading tips

First read through the table of contents and grasp the book's structure in the order of the Civil, Martial, and Dragon Teachings.
After each chapter, summarize its core argument in one or two sentences, then relate it to real life.
Look up unfamiliar characters and terms in reference works as needed, so that literal obstacles do not interrupt reading.
Read alongside other military treatises such as The Art of War to compare their different emphases.

About the publisher

Jilin University Press China · Founded in 1983

Jilin University Press is a comprehensive university press based in Jilin Province, China. Its publishing covers university textbooks, academic monographs and general-interest titles, with common categories including inspirational growth, foreign literature, mystery and detective fiction, history and classic works. The database contains 171 titles, including representative books such as Don Quixote, Jane Eyre, Selected Works of Chekhov, The Moon and Sixpence, The Lady of the Camellias, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, The Family Instructions of Master Yan and The Sorrows of Young Werther, spanning foreign literary classics and traditional Chinese texts. Its author resources include Chinese and foreign figures such as W. Somerset Maugham, Yan Zhitui, Lü Siming and Ba Jin, as well as editors and authors such as Study Group and Zhang Ying. The press has developed a certain character in introducing foreign literary classics and compiling traditional readings, balancing adolescent reading with academic popularization. As public information is limited, the above focuses on the publishing directions reflected in its database titles.

版权信息
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12

FAQ

What is Six Secret Teachings mainly about?

The book unfolds as a dialogue between King Wen and King Wu of Zhou and the Grand Duke, divided into sections such as the Civil, Martial, and Dragon Teachings. It covers topics including statecraft, selecting and appointing the worthy, principles of reward and punishment, the cultivation of generals, the transmission of military intelligence, and weapons and farming implements, combining political strategy with military organization.

Can readers with no grounding in classical Chinese understand it?

This is a compiled edition, and the available information does not describe its annotations and translation in detail. The original is in classical Chinese question-and-answer form; the passages are not long but the wording is archaic. Beginners can read with reference works at hand or alongside other annotated and translated editions, proceeding chapter by chapter without rushing.

What does "Enlightenment Volume" in the title mean?

Judging from the title, "Enlightenment Volume" emphasizes drawing strategic thinking and decision-making wisdom from Six Secret Teachings, leaning toward inspiring thought rather than purely military study. Readers can focus on the book's approaches to judging people, employing people, and weighing advantages and disadvantages, using it as material for mental training.

Comments

Find this book

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

郑成刚 Author

Zheng Chenggang is an author about whom limited public information is available, with 23 works currently held in the library. The existing titles show a broad range of writing: traditional-culture readers for students such as Liu Tao (Wisdom Edition), Hundred Family Surnames (Recitation Edition), and two volumes of Classic Fables That Influence Chinese Students; retellings of folk and mythological tales; and health and lifestyle subjects such as self-management of diabetes and a guide to stylish flower growing. His works are commonly classified under inspirational growth, parenting, health, fashion, and folk literature, reflecting an approach centered on popularization and on making classic stories and practical knowledge accessible to general readers and students.