Part of a series on |
Chinese legalism |
---|
![]() |
The School of Diplomacy (simplified Chinese : 纵 横 家 ; traditional Chinese : 縱橫家 ; pinyin :Zōng héng Jiā), or the School of Vertical and Horizontal Alliances was a political and diplomatic clique during the Warring States period of Chinese history (476-220 BCE). According to the Book of Han , the school was one of the Nine Schools of Thought (Chinese :九流; pinyin :Jiǔ Liú). Originated by Guiguzi , the School of Diplomacy's main adherents were Gongsun Yan , Su Qin, Zhang Yi (Su's disciple), Gan Mao , Sima Cuo , Yue Yi, Fan Sui , Cai Ze , Zou Ji , Mao Sui, Li Yiji and Kuai Che as detailed in the Annals of the Warring States .
According to the Han Feizi , a contemporary work on Legalist Philosophy, supporters of "Vertical Alliance" encourage the weak multitude to attack the one strong side whilst the Horizontal Alliance promote the one strong side attacking the weak multitude. They are all fickle and capricious, change sides frequently and are unable to decide who their master is. Both Su Qin of the Vertical Alliance clique and Zhang Yi of the Horizontal Alliance clique issue many plans and schemes that are politically subjective.
The origins of the terms "Vertical" and "Horizontal" are political and are based on anti-Qin (i.e. "perpendicular" or "vertical") alliance formed by six states of the rest of China, whilst the State of Qin was termed the "Horizontal Alliance". "Horizontal" has no geographic sense of stretching from west to east. No such axis ever formed. This is a mistaken Eurocentric interpretation deriving from the Mercator map projection.
"Zong" indicates the "He Zong" (Chinese :合縱), or Vertical Alliance, the "weak multitude against the one strong side", made up of the six states of Qi, Chu, Yan, Han, Zhao and Wei united against Qin. "Heng" indicates the "Lian Heng" (Chinese :連橫), or Horizontal Alliance, the "one strong side to smash the weak multitude", thus illustrating the different diplomatic policies of the two sides.
The School of Diplomacy was one of the nine styles of the ten Schools of Thought of the Warring States period and starts with an objective point of view to reach the required goal. The school's adherents were always an active group on the political stage during the Warring States period. Moreover, they played a decisive role and were described as extremely powerful and capable, constantly struggling to manipulate the situation.
The few principal written records of the School of Diplomacy that exist today are the thirteenth chapter of the Book of Gui or Guiguzi , the thirty-third chapter of Annals of the Warring States , not about the School of Diplomacy's followers, but primarily the words and actions of its advisors as well as actual combat case studies, the thirty-first chapter of Su Zi and the tenth chapter of Zhang Zi. The seventh chapter of the "Benjing Yifu" appendix to the Guiguzi describes the mental and moral cultivation methods used by the School of Diplomacy; the "Benjing" covers the ideas behind the basic guiding principles whilst the "Yinfu" consists of very mysterious concealed writings.
The reader can comprehend these but is unable to discover their essential meaning. The Guiguzi is a book of theory that is complete in every detail and very subtly written, making its ideas hard to express. More importantly the work requires study and use in order to understand the nuances of its meaning. The Annals of the Warring States is a well-written rhetorical compendium the words and actions of the strategists of the School of Diplomacy who were all resourceful, intelligent, aware of the actual situation and gifted in the use of language.
The Warring States period was an era in ancient Chinese history characterized by warfare, bureaucratic and military reform, and political consolidation. It followed the Spring and Autumn period and concluded with the wars of conquest that saw the state of Qin annex all the other contender states by 221 BC and found the Qin dynasty, the first imperial dynasty in Chinese history.
Zhao was one of the seven major states during the Warring States period of ancient China. It emerged from the tripartite division of Jin, along with Han and Wei, in the 5th century BC. Zhao gained considerable strength from the military reforms initiated during the reign of King Wuling, but suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Qin at the Battle of Changping. Its territory included areas in the modern provinces of Inner Mongolia, Hebei, Shanxi and Shaanxi. It bordered the states of Qin, Wei, and Yan, as well as various nomadic peoples including the Hu and Xiongnu. Its capital was Handan, in modern Hebei province.
The Zhan Guo Ce, also known in English as the Strategies of the Warring States or Annals of the Warring States, is an ancient Chinese text that contains anecdotes of political manipulation and warfare during the Warring States period. It is an important text of the Warring States period as it describes the strategies and political views of the School of Diplomacy and reveals the historical and social characteristics of the period.
King Huiwen of Qin, also known as Lord Huiwen of Qin, personal name Ying Si, was the ruler of the Qin state from 338 to 311 BC. He was the first ruler of Qin to style himself "King" (王) instead of "Duke" (公).
Zhang Yi was a Chinese military strategist and philosopher. He was born in the Wei state during the Warring States period of Chinese history. He was an important strategist in helping Qin to dissolve the unity of the other states, and hence pave the way for Qin to unify China. He was an advocate of horizontal alliance, unlike Su Qin; both were adherents of the School of Diplomacy.
Guiguzi (鬼谷子), also called Baihece, is a collection of ancient Chinese texts compiled between the late Warring States period and the end of the Han dynasty. The work, between 6,000 and 7,000 Chinese characters, discusses techniques of rhetoric. Although originally associated with the School of Diplomacy, the Guiguzi was later integrated into the Daoist canon.
Su Qin was a Chinese political consultant and philosopher who was an influential political strategist during the Warring States period. He was born in Chengxuan Village, Luoyang in present-day Henan Province. According to legend Su Qin was a disciple of Guiguzi, the founder of the School of Diplomacy. He was the chief advocate of the Vertical Alliance system, which sought to create an alliance of the other states against the state of Qin. The opposing theory, "Horizontal Alliance" supported alliances with the State of Qin.
The Water Margin is a 1998 Chinese television series adapted from Shi Nai'an's classical 14th-century novel of the same title. It was produced by CCTV with Zhang Jizhong as producer. It was first broadcast in China in January 1998. The series also featured action choreography by Yuen Woo-ping.
This is a list of articles in Eastern philosophy.
All Men Are Brothers is a 2011 Chinese television series adapted from Shi Nai'an's 14th century novel Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. The series is directed by Kuk Kwok-leung and features cast members from mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong. The series was first broadcast on 8TV in March 2011 in Malaysia.
Letter 1949 is a 2008 Taiwanese drama starring Queenie Tai, Lin Yo-wei, Alien Huang, Hawick Lau. It was produced by Eastern Shine Production. The series was broadcast on free-to-air Chinese Television System (CTS) from 9 to 26 November 2008, Monday to Thursday at 20:00.
The Yi Zhou Shu is a compendium of Chinese historical documents about the Western Zhou period. Its textual history began with a text/compendium known as the Zhou Shu, which was possibly not differentiated from the corpus of the same name in the extant Book of Documents. Western Han dynasty editors listed 70 chapters of the Yi Zhou Shu, of which 59 are extant as texts, and the rest only as chapter titles. Such condition is described for the first time by Wang Shihan in 1669. Circulation ways of the individual chapters before that point are subject to scholarly debates.
Mr. Right Wanted is a 2014 Taiwanese comedy, romance television series produced by UDN Productions, starring Sonia Sui, Christopher Lee, Kuo Shu-yao, Jerry Huang, Hans Chung, Chang Shao Huai, and Emerson Tsai. Filming began on December 23, 2013 and finished on June 7, 2014. First original broadcast began November 7, 2014 on TTV channel, airing on Friday nights from 10:00-12:00 pm.
Love Cuisine is a 2015 Taiwanese romance, comedy drama television series produced by Sanlih E-Television, starring Lego Lee, Allison Lin, Duncan Chow and Nita Lei as the main cast. Filming began on July 13, 2015 and the series was filmed as it aired. First original broadcast began August 7, 2015 on SETTV channel airing every Friday at 10:00-11:30 pm.
The Legend of Mi Yue (Chinese: 羋月傳; pinyin: Mǐ Yuè Zhuàn; Wade–Giles: Mi3 Yüeh4 Chuan4) is a 2015 Chinese television series directed by Zheng Xiaolong and based on Jiang Shengnan's eponymous historical novel. It stars Sun Li in the title role of Mi Yue. The series aired 2 episodes daily on Beijing TV and Dragon TV from 30 November 2015 to 9 January 2016.
Prince of Wolf is a 2016 Taiwanese romance television series created and produced by Sanlih E-Television. Starring Derek Chang, Amber An, Samuel Gu, Katie Chen and Hsueh Shih-ling as the main cast. Filming began on June 9, 2016 and wrapped up on 28 October 2016. First original broadcast began on July 3, 2016 on TTV airing every Sunday night at 10:00–11:30 pm.
Weixinism, institutionally also known by the extended title of Holy Church of the Heart-Only is one of the Chinese salvationist religions born in Taiwan in the late 20th century. It was founded in 1984 in Taichung by Grand Master Hun Yuan. Its global core membership is about 300,000, with a larger audience estimated by Taiwan's Ministry of Internal Affairs at 1,000,000. The church has quickly spread to mainland China since the early 2000s, where it functions as a platform for joint initiatives of the Chinese mainland and Taiwanese governments for the renewal of Chinese culture. It has also developed as a worldwide religious movement, attracting followers not only from the Chinese diaspora, but also communities of other races, including East Asians and even Westerners.
The Qin Empire II: Alliance is a 2012 Chinese television series adapted from Sun Haohui's novel of the same Chinese title, which romanticises the events in China during the Warring States period primarily from the perspective of the Qin state during the reigns of King Huiwen and King Wu.
Iron Ladies is a 2018 Taiwanese television series created and produced by SETTV. It stars Aviis Zhong, Ben Wu, Ada Pan, Zhu Zhi-Ying as the main cast. It was first broadcast on 10 January 2017 on SET Metro and airs every Friday night from 10pm to 11.30pm.