Treatise on Military Preparedness, Volume 7

Evaluation of Military Secrets

The Three Strategies

This work was originally composed by TaigongTaigong Wang, also known as Jiang Ziya (c. 11th century BCE), the legendary strategist who assisted in the founding of the Zhou Dynasty. He is traditionally considered the "father" of Chinese military thought.. Later, Huang ShigongThe "Old Man of the Yellow Stone," a semi-mythical recluse of the Qin dynasty. Legend says he gave this book to Zhang Liang after testing his patience by making him retrieve a shoe from under a bridge. expanded upon these principles, and the text found its true fulfillment when it was entrusted to ZifangThe courtesy name of Zhang Liang (d. 189 BCE), a brilliant strategist who served the first Han Emperor. He is credited with using these "Three Strategies" to help unify China..

The Superior Strategy
The Middle Strategy
The Inferior Strategy

The Superior Strategy