The main lesson: "Wait until circumstances favor you"
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Origin of article Part #1 Origin of article Part #2
In our global society, Sunzi’s (Sun Tzu) Art of War is known as the most well-written and popular strategy classic from China. Some of the other popular Chinese military classics are Sun Bin’s The Art of War, Huang Shek Gong’s Three Strategies and Wuzi’s Art of War. Before Sunzi’s Art of War was written, there was Jiang Taigong’s (JTG) Six Secret Strategic Teachings (also known as Six Strategies of War).
Jiang Taigong was a real historical character named Lu Shang (also known as Jiang Ziya) who, in the 11th century BC, became advisor to King Wen and his son King Wu, founders of the Zhou dynasty (1122-771 BC). He was supposedly instrumental in aiding the fall of the Shang Dynasty (approximately 1700 BCE - 1045 BCE) and in establishing the Zhou (1045 BCE – 221 BCE). He was the prime minister for the first Zhou emperor and his loyalty and farsightedness in governing spread his fame throughout China.
The legend of Jiang Taigong captured popular imagination. Jiang Taigong is honored throughout Chinese history as the first great military advisor and the father of strategic studies.
He was credited with the feat of writing the first military strategic book Liutao (Six Secret Strategic Teachings). Liutao has been considered a highly important and proven source for military wisdom over the centuries, where it continues to be held in high esteem among contemporary Chinese professionals.
History
Note: The many interpretations of Jiang Tai Gong’s biography propelled this writer to focus on the apparent.
Jiang Taigong (first known as Lü Shang of Lù-shi clan) was later known as Jiang Shang, then Jiang Ziya and Jiang Taigongwang).
As Lu Shang, he served King Zhouwang, the last ruler of the Shang dynasty (16th to 11th century BC) as an expert in military strategic affairs. The Shang ruler was a tyrannical and corrupted ruler who spent his days carousing with his favorite concubine Daji and mercilessly executing or punishing honorable officials and all others who objected to his ways.
After many years of working for the Shang ruler, Lu Shang detested him so much that he hoped that some day someone would call on him to help overthrow this evil tyrant. One day the Shang ruler came up with the extravagant goal of building 'Lu Tai' (deer platform) palace that would glorify him as a deity. This task became such a burden to the people that the hungry and sick were dying in the countryside.
Lü Shang abandoned his post and left with his wife Ma-shi to go to the west. They suffered many years in poverty and his wife later left him. During that period, Lu Shang knew that he would have another opportunity that would utilize his talent. All he needed to do was to be patient. Lu Shang waited till he was 72 years old for the next opportunity to come along.
Meeting King Wen
After his wife left him, Lu Shang went to Wei-shui River (near today’s Xi'an) to fish, knowing that the future Zhou ruler Wenwang (located in central Shaanxi) would come along one day and meet him. The opportunity occurred one day, when King Wen decided to go hunting in the area near the river, where he saw Lu Shang sitting on the grass, fishing with a bamboo pole that had a barbless hook attached to it. (Some claimed that there was no hook on the line.) The hook was then positioned a few feet above the surface of the water.
This unique act of fishing is based on Jiang’s theory that the fish would come to him of their own volition when they were ready. This action requires the fisherman to be patient and devise the philosophy of "if one waits long enough, things will come their way."
As King Wen of the Zhou state (central Shaanxi), saw Lu Shang fishing, he was reminded of the advice of his father and grandfather before him, which was to search for talented people. In fact, he had been told by his grandfather (the Grand Duke of Zhou), "… that one day a sage would come and help him to rule the Zhou state."
When King Wen saw Lu Shang, he immediately felt that this was an unusual old man and began to converse with him. He discovered that this white-haired fisherman was actually an astute political thinker and military strategist. This, he felt, must be the man his grandfather had mentioned. He took Lu Shang as his coach to the court, appointed him the role of prime minister, and then gave him the title Jiang Taigongwang (Hope of the Duke of Zhou). This was later shortened to Jiang Taigong.
One account of Jiang Taigong's life, written long after his time, said he believed that " … a country could become powerful only when the people prospered. If the officials enriched themselves while the people remained poor, the ruler would not last long. The major principle in ruling a country is loving the people through the reduction of taxes and slave labor. … " By following those ideas, King Wen immediately and rapidly strengthened the prowess and power of Zhou state.
After King Wen died, his son King Wu, who inherited the throne, decided to send troops to overthrow the King of Shang. But Jiang Taigong stopped him, saying: "While I was fishing at Panxi, I realized one truth—if you want to succeed you need to be patient. We must wait for the appropriate opportunity to eliminate the King of Shang."
Soon it was reported that the people of Shang were so oppressed that no one dared to speak. King Wu and Jiang Taigong decided this was the time to attack, for the people had lost faith in the ruler. A bloody battle was fought at Muye (35 kilometers from the Shang capital Yin, now Anyang in the Henan province).
With battle drums beating in the background, Jiang Taigong charged at the chief of the troops, with 100 of his men and drew the Shang troops to the southwest. King Wu's troops then moved quickly and surrounded the capital. Many of the Shang troops defending the capital were untrained slaves. They immediately surrendered, enabling Zhou army to capture the capital.
The Shang king set fire to his palace and perished in it. As for Daji, one version has it that she was captured and executed; another version was that she took her own life. At that moment, King Wu and his successors established the rule of the Zhou dynasty all over China.
Jiang Taigong was made the duke of the State of Qi (today’s Shandong province), which thrived with effective communications between the king and the people. He also assisted in building the economic state of Zhou dynasty.
After some time, Jiang Taigong retired from his post before King Wu became wary of him.
The Lesson
There are many variations related to the biography of Jiang Taigong. The two situations "Meet the King Wen" and "Advising King Wu" has been used on many levels to explain the significance of patience and control. The story also presents a sophisticated message that is applicable in any strategic scenario: "Wait until circumstances favor you."
Trivia (mainly rumors) related to Jiang Taigong:
- It has been said that Fan Li, Zhang Liang, and Zhuge Liang were also readers and users of Jiang Taigong’s book for the purpose of prevailing over their rivals
- Wang Xu (also known as the Master of Ghost Valley) who started the first academy of military studies during the Warring states, taught the concepts of Jiang Taigong writings to his students. His top students were Sun Bin, Sui Chang and Zhang Yi
- Sun Bin also received this book first and later received the Sunzi text from his teacher Wang Xu
- In the river near Xi'an there is a big stone with an indentation that said this was the spot that Jiang Taigong resided in his act of fishing
- Rumors say that the following strategic classics were also attributed to Tai Gong:
Huang Shi Gong Ji (Huang Shi Gong's Records) [later Sui Dynasty]; Huang Shi Gong San Lüe (Huang Shi Gong's Three Schemes); and Yin Fu (Concealed Symbols) - Many legends on Jiang Taigong were collected in the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) and can be found in a fictional work Fengshen Yanyi (Tales of Gods and Heroes)
- There are various parts of China and Asia that honor the achievements of Jiang Tai Gong
Other Matters
During his retirement, Jiang Taigong took time to write a manuscript on how to effectively lead an empire based on his conversations with King Wen and later King Wu (who succeeded to the throne on Wen's death). This manuscript was Tai Gong Liu Tao (translated as “Tai Gong's Six Secret Strategic Teachings”). It consisted of advice on how to organize a potential empire, military advice describing methods of insurrection and revolution that were instrumental in the overthrow of Shang dynastic rule, and a wide range of strategic insights and tactical instructions in every arena of human activity.
Six Secret Strategic Teachings (Six Secret Strategies of Conflict)
The Six Secret Strategic Teachings is a good book for "newbies" who are interested in strategic consulting and advising. It consists of six chapters that guide the readers in the art and science of effective strategy and leadership from a top-down mode.
Note: I will describe some of Jiang's concepts in a contemporary sense.
The first two "chapters" deal with the duties of the organization and the natural transition of power to the principal rival if the organization fails. This scenario can be described as a "respective" interplay of "yin and yang."
The Civil Strategic Secret: The first chapter stresses the importance of recruiting talent, managing the organization, and valuing developing a proper relationship within your client and your own organization. Once the bond of absolute trust is established, they will do almost anything for you.
The Military Strategic Secret: The second chapter accentuates the importance of how to prevail over the opposition and how to build a territorial domain by the following actions: Cultivating yourself and organizing your own group in order to govern your external settings and pacify the world. The concept of "conquering without a single tactical battle" is also greatly emphasized. (It is similar to Sunzi's concept of "winning a war without a battle.")
The Dragon Strategic Secret: The emphasis is on how to lead wisely through various situations by understanding and development operational command, order, and liaison.
The Tiger Strategic Secret: The emphasis is on the tactical essentials, including matters related to proper group-maneuvering procedures for certain scenarios.
The Leopard Strategic Secret: This chapter focuses on the tactical specifics for finding the critical path toward completing the objective
The Dog Strategic Secret: This final chapter focuses on the tactical specifics of trapping the target (i.e., encircling and intercepting). There are also good points on selecting and training the desired professionals and coordinating the personnel's and resources toward the target.
Note: Many years ago an elderly scholar told me to first understand and master the content from Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 (civil secret teachings and martial secret teachings). The first stage of any good consultant is to gain the client's trust by knowing the various ways of "suggesting" ideas and perspectives to the principal client. He also joked that the concepts behind Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 are similar to Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations, but with a Dao-conceptualized viewpoint. If you want to start an uprising in your competitive arena, carefully study those two chapters.
Another lesson that I learned from reading Jiang's essay was the importance of "thinking big" in your own aspiration.
Six Secret Strategic Teachings was compiled into a single body of strategic work known as Wujing Qishu (also known as The Seven Martial Classics 武經七書) during the Sung dynasty. It was designated as an essential material for the imperial military examinations and thus came to disproportionately affect subsequent military thought. Separately each of these seven classics complements each other in terms of strategic leadership.
This set of classics was read not only by military officials but also by high government officials, and played a great role in the socialization of scholars, officials, and military officers.
Conclusion
The thoughts of Jiang Taigong have been known for 3000 years ago and I believe that it still remains relevant for today's CEOs, managers, and leaders.
His concepts of effective strategy and leadership has been widely reinterpreted and applied in the corporate world today. A sound appreciation of Jiang's concepts is a requirement for both sophisticated and budding strategic leaders.
If you want to start an uprising in your strategic setting, reading this book is a good start.
MEH is a techie-strategy consultant who has written articles on "Pragmatic Daoism", "Application of Chinese Strategic Concepts in Modern Situations" and classic Chinese strategists (Sunzi, Sun Bin and Zhuge Liang).
Suggestions
Six Strategic Teachings
by Ralph D. Sawyer
To those who are interested in securing this book, I recommend an English translation of this copy written by Dr. Ralph S. Sawyer.
Writer's notes:
Dr. Sawyer translation of this classic [Six Strategic Teachings] is quite good due to its succinctness in explaining the ideas.
I conclude that there are no supreme schools of strategic thoughts, just supreme implementers of those strategic thoughts.
The Essence of War: Leadership and Strategy from the Chinese Military Classics
by Ralph D. Sawyer
This book possesses an excellent compilation of quotes from Dr. Sawyer's translation of the Seven Martial Classics and Sun Bin's Military Methods. It is comprehensive and well organized for the novice and advanced strategists.
This compilation introduces to the reader the core principles of Chinese military science, grouping selected passages and key quotations into five thematic sections encompassing forty-one topical chapters, including Fundamentals, Dao (or Tao) of Warfare, Dao of Command, Tactical Essentials, and Tactical Specifics. It also has a concise introduction to the Chinese strategic thought and influential materials not only of traditional import, but also for contemporary study and enduring value in both business and military circles throughout the world.
From reading this book, you can see the many parallels of strategic thoughts between Jiang Tai Gong and other strategic thinkers like Sunzi, Sunbin, Wuzi, and others.
The selected passages and key quotations for each section are from his books, Seven Military Classics of Ancient China and Sun Bin's Military Methods.
I consider the above book as a good "comprehensive" reference for the armchair quarterback and desktop general on the run.
Recommend that you buy the above three books from Amazon through "this link from Jade Dragon.com"
Best Regards
Cardinal009
ps:
SIX STRATEGIES FOR WAR
For those who are text reading-challenged and need an uncomplicated interpretation of Jiang's essay, I suggest the following pictorial-based copy from Asianpac Books.
Copyright: Cardinal009 (MEH), 2005
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