Sun Tzu was a Chinese military general,strategist,philosopher,and writer who lived during the Eastern Zhou period. Sun Tzu is traditionally credited as the author of The Art of War,an influential work of military strategy that has affected both Western and East Asian philosophy and military thought. Sun Tzu is revered in Chinese and East Asian culture as a legendary historical and military figure. His birth name was Sun Wu and he was known outside of his family by his courtesy name Changqing. The name Sun Tzu—by which he is more popularly known—is an honorific which means "Master Sun".
The Warring States period in Chinese history comprises the final centuries of the Zhou dynasty,which were 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 each of the other contender states by 221 BC and found the Qin dynasty,the first imperial dynastic state in East Asian history.
Wei was one of the seven major states during the Warring States period of ancient China. It was created from the three-way Partition of Jin,together with Han and Zhao. Its territory lay between the states of Qin and Qi and included parts of modern-day Henan,Hebei,Shanxi,and Shandong. After its capital was moved from Anyi to Daliang during the reign of King Hui,Wei was also called Liang.
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.
Qin was an ancient Chinese state during the Zhou dynasty. It is traditionally dated to 897 BC. The Qin state originated from a reconquest of western lands that had previously been lost to the Xirong. Its location at the western edge of Chinese civilisation allowed for expansion and development that was not available to its rivals in the North China Plain.
The Chu–Han Contention (楚漢相爭),also known as the Chu–Han War (楚漢戰爭),was an interregnum in Imperial China between the fall of the Qin dynasty and the establishment of the Han dynasty. After the Qin were overthrown by rebel forces in 206 BCE,the empire was divided into the Eighteen Kingdoms ruled by rebel leaders and former Qin generals according to Xiang Yu,the rebel leader. A civil war soon broke out,most prominently between two major contending powers –Xiang Yu and Liu Bang,who were respectively the rulers of the Chu and Han kingdoms. Some of the other kingdoms also waged war among themselves but these were largely insignificant compared to the main conflict between Chu and Han. The war ended with a Han victory at the Battle of Gaixia in 202 BCE,during which Xiang Yu committed suicide after having made a last stand. Liu subsequently proclaimed himself emperor of the newly established Han dynasty.
Bai Qi,also known as Gongsun Qi (公孫起),was a Chinese military general of the Qin state during the Warring States period. Born in Mei,Bai Qi served as the commander of the Qin army for more than 30 years,being responsible for the deaths of over one million,earning him the nickname Ren Tu. According to the Shiji,he seized more than 73 cities from the other six hostile states,and to date no record has been found to show that he suffered a single defeat throughout his military career. He was instrumental in the rise of Qin as a military hegemon and the weakening of its rival states,thus enabling Qin's eventual conquest of them. He is regarded by Chinese folklore as one of the four Greatest Generals of the Late Warring States period,along with Li Mu,Wang Jian,and Lian Po;he is also remembered as the most fearsome amongst the four.
The Battle of Guìlíng was fought between the states of Qíand Wei in the Warring States period of Chinese history.
The Battle of Maling took place in Maling,currently Dazhangjia Town (大張家鎮),Shen County (莘县),Henan Province,in 342 BC during the Warring States period. The combatants were the State of Qi,who fought on behalf of the State of Han,and the State of Wei. This battle is well recorded in history texts and is famous for the tactics of Sun Bin,known as the "Tactic of Missing Stoves",in which one side is led to underestimate the other by creating an illusion of soldiers running away from the enemy army.
The Battle of Jingxing (井陘之戰),also known as the Battle of Tao River (洮水之戰),was fought in October 205 BC between the army of Han,commanded by Han Xin,and a Zhao army. The Zhao were led by Prince Zhao Xie (趙歇) of Zhao and Chen Yu (陳餘),also known as the Lord of Cheng An (成安君),who was serving as Zhao Xie's prime minister.
King Zhaoxiang of Qin,also abbreviated as King Zhao of Qin (秦昭王),born Ying Ji (嬴稷),was the king of the Qin state from 306 BC to 251 BC. He was the son of King Huiwen and younger brother of King Wu.
Sun Bin's Art of War is a Chinese treatise on military strategy that dates back to the Warring States period,an era of political instability and warfare in ancient China. It is credited to Sun Bin,who was believed to be a descendant of the famous military strategist Sun Tzu. Sun Bin served as a military advisor in the Qi state during this period and is said to have authored this piece on military tactics.
Qin's wars of unification were a series of military campaigns launched in the late third century BC by the state of Qin against the other six states remaining in China –Han,Zhao,Yan,Wei,Chu and Qi. Between 247 and 221 BC,Qin had developed into the most powerful of China's Seven Warring States that coalesced in the wake of the declining Zhou dynasty,which had been reduced to a weak and merely ceremonial position during the Warring States period. In 230 BC,Ying Zheng,the King of Qin,began the sequence of campaigns that would bring the Warring States period to a close,setting out to conquer each of the six states one by one. This was completed in 221 BC with the fall of Qi,which further led to a more centralised form of government replacing the fengjian system of the Zhou dynasty. Ying Zheng declared himself the First Emperor –or Shi Huangdi –of a unified China under the Qin dynasty.
King Wei of Qi,personal name Tian Yinqi (田因齊),was a ruler of the Qi state,reigning from 356 BC to 320 BC,or according to another source from 378 BC to 343 BC. He was the first ruler of Qi to style himself "king".
Marquess Cheng of Zhao,personal name Zhao Zhong,was a marquess of the Zhao state. He was the son of Marquess Jing,whom he succeeded.
Bing Sheng is a 2008 Chinese television series produced by Zhang Jizhong,starring Zhu Yawen,Li Tai,Hu Jing,Zhao Yi,He Zhuoyan,Xu Huanhuan,Tu Men and Wu Ma. It is loosely based on the life of the ancient Chinese militarist Sun Tzu,who wrote The Art of War. It was first broadcast on Changde TV in 2009.
Pang Juan was an ancient Chinese military general of the Wei state during the Warring States period.
Tian Ji,courtesy name Qi (齐),was a military general of the Qi state during the early Warring States period of Chinese history. Tian Ji met Sun Bin and recommended him to King Wei of Qi as a military strategist. Tian Ji commanded the Qi armies in the Battle of Guiling and Battle of Maling,scoring victories against the Wei state with help and guidance from Sun Bin.
King Anxi of Wei,personal name Wei Yu,was king of the Wei state from 276 BC to 243 BC. He was the son of King Zhao and the older brother of Lord Xinling. In 275 BC,after a Han general fled to the Wei capital Daliang,King Anxi began a war against Qin in an alliance with Qi. Qin forces under chancellor Wei Ran and general Bai Qi captured 4 cities,besieged Daliang and killed 40,000 people. In 273 BC,with the assistance of Lord Mengchang of Qi,he began another war in an alliance with Zhao. The war ended with the deaths of 130,000 people. In 257 BC,he assisted Zhao when its capital Handan was besieged by Qin forces,at the request of Lord Pingyuan of Zhao,who was married to Lord Xinling's older sister.
The military of the Warring States refers primarily to the military apparatuses of the Seven Warring States which fought from around 475 BC to 221 BC when the state of Qin conquered the other six states,forming China's first imperial dynasty,the Qin dynasty.
