About this ebook
The first two volumes, Civil Strategy and Martial Strategy, lay the political foundations of power: advocating popular sovereignty ("All under Heaven belongs to all under Heaven"), virtuous governance, and the doctrine of "complete victory without battle"—the highest form of warfare that prevails without armed conflict. It details twelve methods of civil subversion (the "civil offensive") to dismantle enemies from within. The remaining four volumes provide a systematic treatise on military organization, including the earliest surviving account of a 72-officer general staff, quantitative chariot and cavalry tactics, and precise specifications for ancient weapons and equipment.
Canonized in 1080 CE as required reading for all Chinese military officers, The Six Strategies shaped strategic thought across East Asia for nine centuries. This 2026 translation by Arthur Peng, based on the authoritative 2016 Zhonghua Book Company critical edition, fills a longstanding gap by balancing scholarly fidelity with readability. It includes full annotations for proper nouns and technical terms, plus a comprehensive glossary, introducing English-speaking readers to one of history’s most sophisticated and humane works of strategic philosophy.
About the author
Tai Gong, also known as Jiang Ziya, was the legendary strategist, statesman, and military thinker of ancient China. Traditionally regarded as the source of The Six Strategies, his wisdom laid the theoretical foundation for Chinese statecraft and military philosophy. Though the text was compiled during the late Warring States period under his name, Tai Gong’s ideas shaped two millennia of East Asian strategic thought.
Arthur Peng is a translator specializing in classical Chinese military and philosophical texts. This English translation of The Six Strategies is produced from the authoritative edition. His work balances rigorous scholarly fidelity and accessible modern prose, bringing ancient Chinese strategic classics to English-speaking readers.
