Treatise on Armament Technology, Volume 71

System of Formations and Training

Training, Part 4

Proclaimed Orders, Part 1

original: 懸令 (Xuanling). These are the formal commands, military laws, and codes of conduct that were publicly posted or announced to the troops to ensure absolute discipline.

Master Mao referring to the author, Mao Yuanyi, using a respectful title says: There are two principles regarding proclaimed orders. The first is called Prohibitions; the second is called Rewards and Punishments. In truth, within the Prohibitions themselves, the specific punishments are already fully established. The reason I have documented the standards for rewards and punishments from ancient times to the present is because I want the officers and soldiers to be clearly aware of the consequences—the paths of benefit and harm. This understanding serves to strengthen their resolve to strictly observe the prohibitive orders. When an army is about to depart for a campaign, the commander must repeatedly emphasize and clarify the orders original: 三令五申 (sanling wushen), a classical idiom meaning to give instructions over and over again to ensure they are understood. However, if these orders are not first proclaimed during the period of training and instruction...