Illustrated Treatise on the Maritime Kingdoms, Volume 80

General Discourse on Sea Defense IV Originally missing, now supplemented

Compiled by Wei Yuan of Shaoyang

Seven Rules for Soldiers and Brave Volunteers to Exterminate the Barbarians By Lin Zexu, Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi

1. Although the barbarian original: "yi" 夷 — a term traditionally used by the Qing court to refer to foreigners, particularly the British and other Westerners during the Opium War. warships may be many zhangA traditional Chinese unit of length; one zhang is approximately 3.3 meters or 11 feet. long, you must not be intimidated by their length. Although they possess many large cannons, you must not fear their number or size. This is because the barbarian cannons are only positioned along the two sides of the ship. Our forces need only attack their bow or stern. For example, if the bow faces south and the stern faces north: if there is a northerly wind, attack the stern; if there is a southerly wind, attack the bow. If the bow faces east and the stern faces west, likewise use an easterly wind to attack the bow or a westerly wind to attack the stern. By doing so, you occupy the windward positionoriginal: "shangfeng" 上風 — the advantageous position upwind of the enemy, allowing for better maneuverability and control of fire or smoke. and simultaneously avoid their cannon fire. Furthermore, observe the movement of the tides; if you take advantage of a favorable current, victory is certain. Barbarian ships draw a great deal of water, the larger ones more than two zhang and the smaller ones at least one zhang. Our ships draw...