After being edited by Liu Xiang in the Western Han Dynasty, The Warring States Policy was recorded in a series of historical books, and in Sui and Tang Dynasties, it was a miscellaneous history in the history department. By the Southern Song Dynasty, some scholars had different views on the nature of the Warring States policy. Gao believes that the "Warring States Policy" is "less dense and different mistakes", unlike historical books, it should be incorporated into the Ministry. However, this opinion has not been recognized. Since then, the Warring States policy has always been a history or a child in the official and folk book catalogues.

Judging the attributes of a book depends on its compiling intention and content. Judging from the style of Warring States Policy, it is obviously not designed for readers to grasp the historical changes by arranging countries and overlapping contents. Judging from the protagonist in the book, he is not a monarch, nor an important official (such as Si Zi), but a counselor. Judging from the contents of the book, it is not a record of major events in the Warring States period, but the lobbying and influence of counselors on various countries. It can be seen that the original intention of "Warring States Policy" is not to record history, but to record the clever words of the wanderers in the Warring States period. The "strategy" of the Warring States Policy is "strategy".

In the Warring States Period, which counselor belongs to a hundred schools of thought? The ideas presented in each chapter of the Warring States Policy are complex, which are embodied in Confucianism, Taoism and law, but generally speaking, they are more the thoughts and values of strategists. "Vertical" is the combination of vertical and horizontal, "Lian Heng", which are two sets of diplomatic strategies after the rise of Qin State. Lian Heng advocated that the six countries should jointly guard against Qin, while the eastern countries should jointly protect Qin for security and development. Su Qin is the representative of Zonghe School, and Zhang Yi is the representative of Lian Heng School. Su and Zhang are actually the protagonists of the Warring States policy.

Jing Chun, another strategist, once showed off to Mencius: "Aren't Gongsun Yan and Zhang Yi honest people?" When you are angry, all the princes are afraid, but when you are at peace, the world will be destroyed. "Mencius angrily condemned them. What kind of men are they? No manners at all, not even women. A gentleman should "live in the world, stand in the right position in the world and be the best in the world." Historical records include Biography of Su Qin and Biography of Zhang Yi, and Tai Shigong commented: "These two are really dangerous people! "These two people are very dangerous. In the Northern Song Dynasty, Ceng Gong revised the Warring States Policy and made a preface to the Catalogue of Warring States Policy. He compared the content of this book with Confucius and Mencius, and thought that strategists "don't know the credibility, but are willing to discuss it easily, but attach importance to it, thinking that everything is a plan", that is to say, they don't know the credibility of the king, but they are willing to discuss it easily, but they care about it with their hearts, making plans for the time being and not making long-term plans. This is quite different from Confucius and Mencius' confidence and belief.

All the above quotations are Confucian criticisms of military strategists, but they do not mean that the Warring States policy has no merits. It is helpful for us to understand the history of the Warring States and the ideological emancipation at that time. Today, many wonderful chapters in the book are still selected as teaching materials.

For example, Zou Jixiu is more than eight feet long (Zou Jixiu satirizes coachable, the king of Qi), and Qi people have (visited) and Empress Zhao (touched the dragon and said Empress Zhao). Zou Jixiu, Feng Xuan and Mo Long portrayed in these articles are far-sighted people. Although their strategy is only for one country, they are far-sighted.

The Warring States policy has also shaped many images of just men and warriors. For example, Lu Zhonglian, who was surrounded by Zhao in the Qin Dynasty, was called "the first person in the Warring States". Why? "People in the Warring States period were all based on potential, but even independence was based on righteousness, which made them different." (Wu Shidao's words) For example, Jing Ke and Tang Ju of Wang Jianzhong defeated Zhao (Jing Ke stabbed the king of Qin), and the ambassador of Qin called him (Tang Ju lived up to his mission). They are all brave people who dare to fight to the death.

It is worth mentioning that Tang Ju appeared many times in the Warring States Policy, but he was not alone in time, which shows that Tang Ju may only be a symbol representing a counselor. This chapter is also likely to be fictional. According to the Qin law, how can you be allowed to take a sword to the court to see the king? -It can be seen that the Warring States Policy does not emphasize historical facts, but only the strategist's strategy.

Reading bibliography:

Yang Zhao's Warring States Policy: A Complete Collection of Strategies for Transcending National Borders and Classes (Guangxi Normal University Press)

He Jin's Interpretation of the Warring States Policy (National Library Press)