Treatise on Armament Technology, Volume 67: Military Formations 19

The Three Talents Formation is distributed into front, middle, and rear ranks to correspond with Heaven, Earth, and Man. Although the design of such formations is a legacy of the ancients, their variable application depends entirely on the commander.

Creating this formation is extremely convenient for establishing a camp on the fly; the distribution is well-proportioned. The front and rear are prepared for charges, while the center possesses two wings. If one unit engages in combat, the other two branches can "await the weary at ease" original: 以逸待勞 — yǐ yì dài láo; a classic stratagem of resting one's troops while the enemy exhausts themselves through movement or attack.. This provides a convenient opportunity to catch one's breath and await the right moment to launch a surprise attack; through this method, victory is always assured.

Duke Li of Wei original: 李衛公 — Lǐ Wèigōng; referring to Li Jing (571–649 AD), a legendary Tang Dynasty general and strategist. said: "The 'Three Gates' is what has been passed down from the Great Duke original: 太公 — Tàigōng; referring to Jiang Ziya, the foundational strategist of the Zhou Dynasty. as the 'Three Talents.' It refers to the concept of 'Heaven covering and Earth supporting'; this is simply the underlying intent behind the deceptive deployment."

Heaven possesses the sun, moon, and the three luminaries original: 三光 — sānguāng; the sun, moon, and stars.; therefore, fire likely referring to firearms or signal flares should take the lead. Earth possesses varied terrain—wide, narrow, steep, or rugged. Within this lies the principle of "one Division Shi: a large unit of 2,500 men comprising five Brigades Lü: a unit of 500 men," and "one Brigade comprising five Companies Zu: a unit of 100 men."

These three elements—Heaven, Earth, and Man—can only be put into effective action by a capable leader. The subtlety of their fluctuations and the wisdom of their distribution and placement depend entirely on the person in command; thus, their applications are never identical.

The Heaven Formation is positioned at the front; it accords with the changes of weather and visibility. The Earth Formation is positioned in the center; it is capable of "supporting all things" serving as the stable foundation of the army and generates both "orthodox" and "unorthodox" original: 奇正 — qīzhèng; the fundamental tactical duality of standard/direct forces and surprise/indirect forces. maneuvers. The Man Formation...