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04/01/24

Several days ago I had a rather peculiar conversation over the phone with a relative living in Europe. During the call we talked about Hong Kong as we were born there; a bit of history: I was born in Hong Kong in 1950 during the British colonial era, my heritage is European and Chinese with Portuguese and Chinese parents, the Portuguese heritage is apparent from my name though the Chinese heritage is not so obvious as it comes from my mother. I grew up in Hong Kong and am thoroughly conversant with the Chinese side of my heritage since my maternal grandmother lived with us.

As for the conversation, the relative got a bit emotional about the territory being returned to China; he even blurted out bits of the spiel that had been prevalent in Western media about Hong Kong. He came up with the line about students having to learn, or are forced to learn, Mandarin/Putonghua. I replied that that was normal since the territory is now under Chinese sovereignty. Later I got to think about it and regretted that I had not mentioned that when it was under British rule, the English Language was mandatory for all students in the territory and all had to have at least a ‘pass grade’ or higher in English to even be accepted into higher education as well as into the workforce. This then is even more pernicious for the vast majority of the indigenous populace were obviously Chinese; thus, how can it be a point of contention when it is the Chinese government’s education policy to have all citizens/students in their territory conversant with the national language? Do not all governments in the world have the same policy? This is so obviously a Brit and Yank Sino-bashing spiel that is an embarrassment to people who are rational and capable of reasoning.

04/30/24

The hatred is thick in the air around the world, but principally in North America and the UK. The hatred takes on various forms: there is hatred between different nations, there is hatred between different ethnic groups, then there is gender hatred. I find the LGBT+ hatred particularly unfathomable since those perceived to be such do not pose a threat to any group in particular. What is the motivation behind the prejudice? I have this perception: that those doing the hate are themselves inclined towards being LGBT+ and are in denial, whether they are aware of it or not, thus their reasoning is blurred by fear and anxiety. The media in these countries are also the main influence in perpetrating this hatred; their motivation is questionable since this is mainly driven by politics and not humanity, as they claim. It would seem that in the media of these countries, particularly social media, the savagery of the people attacking transgender people had increased over the years, more so among the so-called ‘Boomers’, ie. those born in the 50’s and 60’s of the last century; incidentally, I am a ‘Boomer’ myself. While I might have some understanding of their reasoning since the primary emphasis in these post-WW2 years was procreation as the population had to be replenished due to the murderous atrocities perpetrated by the Fascist regimes that sought to take over the world; yet in the present age of enlightenment in terms of sexual orientation among the populaces worldwide, I find this savagery against the LGBT+ populace particularly repugnant since these people do not pose a threat to anyone. In North America this hatred is mostly driven by politics as the so-called ‘Lawmakers’ of the countries involved have an inherent prejudice against the ‘feminist’; this is very obvious with their open castigation of these ‘feminists’ at every turn, especially with the issues of abortion and birth control.

BIOGRAPHY SUN ZI

Sun Zi is best known in the West as the renowned author of 'The Art of War', which had been translated by several 'scholars', more on them later.

Sun Zi 孫子

孫子武者，齊人也。以兵法見於吳王闔廬。闔廬曰：「子之十三篇，吾盡觀之矣，可以小試勒兵乎？」對曰：「可。」闔廬曰：「可試以婦人乎？」曰：「可。」於是許之，出宮中美女，得百八十人。孫子分為二隊，以王之寵姬二人各為隊長，皆令持戟。令之曰：「汝知而心與左右手背乎？」婦人曰：「知之。」孫子曰：「前，則視心；左，視左手；右視右手；後即視背。」婦人曰：「諾。」約束既布，乃設鈇鉞，即三令五申之。於是鼓之右，婦人大笑。孫子曰：「約束不明，申令不熟，將之罪也。」復三令五申而鼓之左，婦人復大笑。孫子曰：「約束不明，申令不熟，將之罪也；既已明而不如法者，吏士之罪也。」乃欲斬左古隊長。吳王從臺上觀，見且斬愛姬，大駭。趣使使下令曰：「寡人已知將軍能用兵矣。寡人非此二姬，食不甘味，願勿斬也。」孫子曰：「臣既已受命為將，將在軍，君命有所不受。」遂斬隊長二人以徇。用其次為隊長，於是復鼓之。婦人左右前後跪起皆中規矩繩墨，無敢出聲。於是孫子使使報王曰：「兵既整齊，王可試下觀之，唯王所欲用之，雖赴水火猶可也。」吳王曰：「將軍罷休就舍，寡人不願下觀。」孫子曰：「王徒好其言，不能用其實。」於是闔廬知孫子能用兵，卒以為將。西破彊楚，入郢，北威齊晉，顯名諸侯，孫子與有力焉。

This 孫子 Sun Zi named 孫武 Sun Wu, was a man from the state of 齊 Qi {Sun Zi was a man of the state of Qi, and said to have lived circa 500 BCE.; he attended upon the 吳 Wu state’s king 闔廬 He Lu and became a general, he wrote the兵法十三篇 “Bing Fa Thirteen Chapters”; known in the Western world as ‘The Art of War’.}. As a result of his Bing Fa, ie. Military Methods, he acquired an audience with the 吳 Wu state’s king 闔廬 He Lu, who reigned from 514 to 496 BCE. He Lu said: [You sir and your thirteen chapters {It was recorded that the ‘Sun Zi Bing Fa’ had a total of three scrolls; the Thirteen Chapters mentioned here are from the first scroll, there were another two scrolls that had apparently been lost.}, I had mostly read them all, possible to have a small trial on reining in soldiers {The term ‘reining in’ when in the context of armies or officials would infer their being controlled and managed, as in training and such.} then?] Sun Zi replied: [Possible.] He Lu then said: [Possible to test it using women then?] Sun Zi said: [Possible.] Therefore the king permitted this, he brought out from the palace his concubines, in all there were one hundred and eighty girls. Sun Zi divided them into two squads, then used the king’s two most favoured concubines to each act as squad leader, all were ordered to carry halberds. Sun Zi then commanded saying: [You know where the heart is and which is the left and right hand as well as the back then?] The women said: [We know.] Sun Zi said: [To the front that is to look at the heart; to the left, that is to look at the left hand; to the right, that is to look at the right hand; to the rear, that is to look at the back.] The women said: [Agreed.] As the conventions and restrictions had been posted, he then arranged for axes and halberds, then explained the 三令 ‘three orders’ and the 五申 ‘five explanations’ of it {These orders and explanations would refer to commands given by the drums and gongs to advance or retreat, and so forth; once each command is explained by the commander then there should not be any errors.}. Sun Zi therefore sounded the drums ordering a right turn, the women greatly laughed. Sun Zi said: [If the conventions and restrictions are not clear, the orders and explanations are not thoroughly understood, it is the general’s fault.] He then again explained the ‘three orders’ and the ‘five explanations’ and sounded the drums ordering a left turn, the women again heartily laughed. Sun Zi said: [If the conventions and restrictions are not clear, the orders and explanations are not thoroughly understood, it is the general’s fault; as these had already been understood yet there are those who do not comply with the orders, this is the fault of the officers and knights.] He then wanted to execute the leaders of the two squads. The Wu king was observing all this from above the viewing platform, he saw that Sun Zi was about to execute his favoured concubines, and was greatly alarmed. He hurriedly sent an envoy down with an order that said: [寡人 Gua Ren {The literal translation would be ‘single man’, the inferrence being that as a lord there is no other person comparable, hence ‘single’. This would be the equivalent of the ‘Royal We’ in European kings.} already know that the general is capable of using an army. Gua Ren if without these two concubines, would eat without tasting sweet flavours, wish that you would not execute them.] Sun Zi said: [I having already accepted the command as general, when a general is with the army, any orders coming from the lord then there would be those that can be unacceptable.] He then proceeded to execute the two squad leaders and had this widely proclaimed. He then used their second-in-command to act as squad leaders, therefore again sounded the drums. The women then went left and right, front and rear, knelt and rose, all were performed within the rules and regulations as though bound by strings, none dared to make a sound. Therefore Sun Zi sent an envoy to report to the king: [The army as it is orderly and uniform, the king can come down to view it; however the king desires to make use of it, even if going into water and fire yet they will do it.] The Wu king said: [The general can now stop and rest at the nearby lodgings, We do not wish to come down to view it.] Sun Zi said: [The king is emptily fond of his words, but is not able to make use of the substance.] Therefore He Lu knew that Sun Zi was capable of using an army, in the end made him the general. To the west they destroyed the strong 楚 Chu state, they entered the capital of 郢 Ying; to the north intimidated the 齊 Qi and 晉 Jin states, displayed their reputation to all the dukes, Sun Zi gave it all his strength.

BIOGRAPHY SUN BIN

The 兵法十三篇 “Bing Fa Thirteen Chapters” 'Art of War', in the century since it was written was then banned from being in the possession of the general populace by the rulers of the Warring States, in fact all military treatises were banned. Sun Bin being a great-grandson of Sun Wu was suspected of being in possession of a copy. Hence his good friend had his legs broken in an effort to force him to divulge the whereabouts of the book.

孫武既死，後百餘歲有孫臏。臏生阿鄄之閒，臏亦孫武之後世子孫也。孫臏嘗與龐涓俱學兵法。龐涓既事魏，得為惠王將軍，而自以為能不及孫臏，乃陰使召孫臏。臏至，龐涓恐其賢於己，疾之，則以法刑斷其兩足而黥之，欲隱勿見。齊使者如梁，孫臏以刑徒陰見，說齊使。齊使以為奇，竊載與之齊。齊將田忌善而客待之。忌數與齊諸公子馳逐重射。孫子見其馬足不甚相遠，馬有上、中、下、輩。於是孫子謂田忌曰：「君弟重射，臣能令君勝。」田忌信然之，與王及諸公子逐射千金。及臨質，孫子曰：「今以君之下駟與彼上駟，取君上駟與彼中駟，取君中駟與彼下駟。」既馳三輩畢，而田忌一不勝而再勝，卒得王千金。於是忌進孫子於威王。威王問兵法，遂以為師。

其後魏伐趙，趙急，請救於齊。齊威王欲將孫臏，臏辭謝曰：「刑餘之人不可。」於是乃以田忌為將，而孫子為師，居輜車中，坐為計謀。田忌欲引兵之趙，孫子曰：「夫解雜亂紛糾者不控捲，救鬥者不搏撠，批亢擣虛，形格勢禁，則自為解耳。今梁趙相攻，輕兵銳卒必竭於外，老弱罷於內。君不若引兵疾走大梁，據其街路，衝其方虛，彼必釋趙而自救。是我一舉解趙之圍而收獘於魏也。」田忌從之，魏果去邯鄲，與齊戰於桂陵，大破梁軍。

後十三歲，魏與趙攻韓，韓告急於齊。齊使田忌將而往，直走大梁。魏將龐涓聞之，去韓而歸，齊軍既已過而西矣。孫子謂田忌曰：「彼三晉之兵素悍勇而輕齊，齊號為怯，善戰者因其勢而利導之。兵法，百里而趣利者蹶上將，五十里而趣利者軍半至。使齊軍入魏地為十萬灶，明日為五萬灶，又明日為三萬灶。」龐涓行三日，大喜，曰：「我固知齊軍怯，入吾地三日，士卒亡者過半矣。」乃棄其步軍，與其輕銳倍日并行逐之。孫子度其行，暮當至馬陵。馬陵道陝，而旁多阻隘，可伏兵，乃斫大樹白而書之曰「龐涓死于此樹之下」。於是令齊軍善射者萬弩，夾道而伏，期曰「暮見火舉而俱發」。龐涓果夜至斫木下，見白書，乃鑽燭之。讀其書未畢，齊軍萬弩俱發，魏軍大亂相失。龐涓自知智窮兵敗，乃自剄，曰：「遂成豎子之名！」齊因乘勝盡破其軍，虜魏太子申以歸。孫臏以此名顯天下，世傳其兵法。

After the death of Sun Wu {It is said that there is a burial mound located at the district of Wu in the area of 巫門 Wu Men and that this was the burial mound of Sun Wu; however, it has not been verified.}, and over a hundred years later, circa 346 BCE, there was 孫臏 Sun Bin. Sun Bin was born somewhere within the area of 阿鄄 A Juan, Sun Bin was the great-grandson of Sun Wu. Sun Bin had been friends with one 龐涓 Pang Juan and together they studied the military methods. Pang Juan then attended upon the state of 魏 Wei, where he became a general under the Wei state’s 惠王 king Hui, yet he thought of himself in terms of ability, as not being comparable to Sun Bin, then a secret envoy from the king was sent to summon Sun Bin. When Sun Bin arrived, Pang Juan feared that he was more worthy than himself, he then loathed the man, thus made use of the laws and punishments to break both his legs and tattooed his face as a criminal, wanting to hide him away so as not to be seen.

An envoy from the 齊 Qi state came to Liang {This was not the state of梁 Liang, but should be what is now汴州 Bian Zhou, present day開封 Kai Feng.}, Sun Bin escaped from his confinement and secretly saw the man, and spoke to the Qi envoy. The Qi envoy thought this strange, then secretly transported him on his carriage and together went to the Qi state. A Qi general by the name of 田忌 Tian Ji treated him well as an honoured guest. Tian Ji often participated with the Qi state’s many princes in galloping and chasing as well as shooting at targets. Sun Bin observed that their horses had strides that were not similar in distance, the horses had those that were classed as superior, medium, low, and general. Therefore Sun Bin spoke to Tian Ji saying: [You lord and your younger brother 田但 Tian Dan are merely fond of shooting, I am able to cause you lord to win.] Tian Ji believed in him, then engaged the king as well as all the princes in a wager of a thousand weights in gold in a racing match. When they arrived at the contest, Sun Zi said: [Today use the lord’s lowest class of your fours to engage their superior fours, then take the lord’s superior fours to engage their medium fours, and the lord’s medium fours to engage their lowest fours.] {The ‘fours’ would refer to horses chosen for a four-horsed chariot.} They then drove around the track three times and the contest ended, Tian Ji had one loss and two wins, in the end he acquired the thousand weights in gold. Therefore Tian Ji recommended Sun Bin to 威王king Wei. King Wei asked about the military methods, then proceeded to make him master.

Sometime later the Wei state attacked the 趙 Zhao state, the Zhao were pressed, and begged rescue from the Qi state. The Qi state’s king Wei wanted to make Sun Bin the general, Bin declined expressing his thanks saying: [One who had been punished in law is not permitted to become a general.] Therefore the king used Tian Ji to act as general, and Sun Bin became his master tactician, the latter lived in a carriage with curtains, where he sat and made plans and tactics. Tian Ji wanted to lead the army to the Zhao state, Sun Bin said: [Now one who would relieve mixed disorder in a chaos of associates {In this case Sun Bin was referring to the army matters that were in disorder and people having numerous associations and pacts, these had to be taken hold of and stopped.} one cannot just suppress and roll it up {With the disorder and men having numerous associates and pacts, one should not just suppress and roll it up, that is hide it away; one has to treat them well and personally alleviate it.}, those seeking to contend one cannot spring upon them and strike {Those people who are seeking to contend, that is get into an argument or fight, one should treat them well and to command them to resolve the issue, do not use one’s hand to help them to attack and strike each other, or else their anger will increase and blaze up.}, make a critique of those being excessive and attack the empty {The army of the Qi in this instance was coming to the rescue of the state of Zhao who were engaged in battle with the Wei state; therefore Sun Bin was saying that amidst the disorder and chaos of a battle one should not go in blindly to become involved in the affray. Thus he was advocating that they should make a judgement on the ranks of the two opposing armies to observe which part is stronger and which is weaker; then one should attack the weaker or ‘empty’ section.}, once the form is a pattern then the power can be interdicted {After careful judgement of the opposing enemy and there is a discernible pattern to the form of their order of battle, then one can interdict their streigths.}, thus they will themselves act to alleviate it{When their strengths have been interdicted then the enemy will have no choice but to relieve and alleviate it themselve, in other words they themselves will disperse and scatter, or have to retreat.}. Now the Liang and Zhao attack each other, the light troops and their best men will surely be used up on the outside, the older and weaker or exhausted will be kept to the interior. You lord why not lead the army and hasten to 大梁 Da Liang itself, occupy their main roads and thoroughfares, carry out assaults on their weak sectors, they will surely release the Zhao army and return to save themselves. This is my one stroke to relieve the siege of the Zhao state and to reap death at the Wei state {After making a judgement on the weak points of the opposing state, Sun Bin is advocating that instead of leading an army directly to the area of conflict, that is the siege of the Zhao capital, the Qi should instead attack the capital of the Wei, that is Da Liang, because it would only be defended by the old and weak. Once this happens then the Wei army will have no choice but to relieve the siege of the Zhao capital and return home to save their capital.}.] Tian Ji complied with this, the Wei did indeed leave 邯鄲 Han Dan, he then engaged the Qi army in battle at 桂陵 Gui Ling, where the Liang army was greatly destroyed.

Thirteen years later {There is some doubt about this date.}, the Wei state together with the Zhao state attacked the 韓 Lesser Han state, {By using ‘lesser han’ it is to differentiate between the two states though the two words are different; in this context, I opted to name a state ‘Lesser’ if, in Pinyin, two states have the same spelling; thus Han the dynasty would just be referred to as Han while here the name of Han, normally this word is used to denote the Koreas, would be named Lesser Han as the latter is vey much smaller.}, the Lesser Han declared an emergency to the Qi state. The Qi dispatched Tian Ji as general to go off on a rescue, he marched straigth to Da Liang. The Wei state’s general Pang Juan heard of this, he left the Lesser Han state and returned home, the Qi army having already passed through then headed west. Sun Bin spoke to Tian Ji and said: [They the army of the 三晉 San Jin state is usually fierce and valiant and regard the Qi army lightly, the Qi has the appellation of ‘timidity’, one who is good in battles should then based on their situation and lead them on based on showing them the advantages. The Bing Fa says, one who goes a hundred miles and hastens towards an advantage causes a stumble to the general {The word ‘stumble’ here would infer that the上將 supreme commander of the army would suffer a calamity.}, one who goes fifty miles and hastens towards an advantage will cause the army to be halved at arrival {Obviously, the quick march pace of the army will cause men to tire and drop off along the way, resulting in only half the army reaching the destination.}. Send the Qi army to enter Wei territory and make ten thousand camp fires, on the next day make only fifty thousand camp fires, then again on the next day make only thirty thousand camp fires.] Pang Juan had marched for three days, he was very pleased, said: [I assuredly knew that the Qi army was timid, they enter our territory three days ago, those of the knights and soldiers who had run off now exceeds half the army.] He then abandoned his foot soldiers, took with him the light troops and the best of his soldiers then doubled the daily pace and chased the Qi army. Sun Bin calculated his march, by that night they should reach 馬陵 Ma Ling. In the area of Ma Ling the roads were narrow and dangerous, and beside them there were many obstructions and defiles, these would accommodate ambush troops, he then chopped down a large tree and put it in plain view with a missive that said: [Pang Juan will die beneath this tree.] He therefor ordered those of the Qi army who were good at shooting, which numbered about ten thousand crossbowmen; these men were to line both sides of the road and hide in ambush, the orders read: [In the evening on seeing fires being raised then altogether shoot.] Pang Juan did indeed that night arrive beneath the chopped down tree, he saw the clear missive, then ordered it burned. He had not yet finished reading the missive, the ten thousand crossbowmen of the Qi then all shot their arrows, the Wei army was in great turmoil and lost each other in the dark. Pang Juan then knew himself to be lacking in intelligence and his army defeated, he then slit his own throat, saying: [I proceed to accomplish this upright man’s reputation {The upright man here referred to Sun Bin, it was a reference to his feet being broken and he could not stand straight, as the leg was broken by Pang Juan, this was somewhat of a churlish exclamation.}!] The Qi as a result of pressing hard after their victory, then destroyed his army, took prisoner of the Wei state’s crown prince the 太子申 Tai Zi Shen and then returned home. Sun Bin because of this had his reputation announced to all under heaven, for generations they passed on his Bing Fa book of military methods.

Biography Wu Qi 吳起 Part One

Wu Qi was renowned for his military prowess as well as for his overarching desire to make his reputation as a commander; so much so that he killed his wife, who was from the state of Qi, as a declaration of fealty to the Lu state in order to be made commanding general.

吳起者，衛人也，好用兵。嘗學於曾子，事魯君。齊人攻魯，魯欲將吳起，吳起取齊女為妻，而魯疑之。吳起於是欲就名，遂殺其妻，以明不與齊也。魯卒以為將。將而攻齊，大破之。

魯人或惡吳起曰：「起之為人，猜忍人也。其少時，家累千金，游仕不遂，遂破其家，鄉黨笑之，吳起殺其謗己者三十餘人，而東出衛郭門。與其母訣，齧臂而盟曰：『起不為卿相，不復入衛。』遂事曾子。居頃之，其母死，起終不歸。曾子薄之，而與起絕。起乃之魯，學兵法以事魯君。魯君疑之，起殺妻以求將。夫魯小國，而有戰勝之名，則諸侯圖魯矣。且魯衛兄弟之國也，而君用起，則是棄衛。」魯君疑之，謝吳起。

吳起於是聞魏文侯賢，欲事之。文侯問李克曰：「吳起何如人哉？」李克曰：「起貪而好色，然用兵司馬穰苴不能過也。」於是魏文候以為將，擊秦，拔五城。

起之為將，與士卒最下者同衣食。臥不設席，行不騎乘，親裹贏糧，與士卒分勞苦。卒有病疽者，起為吮之。卒母聞而哭之。人曰：「子卒也，而將軍自吮其疽，何哭為？」母曰：「非然也。往年吳公吮其父，其父戰不旋踵，遂死於敵。吳公今又吮其子，妾不知其死所矣。是以哭之。」

文侯以吳起善用兵，廉平，盡能得士心，乃以為西河守，以拒秦、韓。

This man 吳起 Wu Qi, was from the state of 衛 Lesser Wei, he was fond of deploying troops. He would often study with 曾子 Zeng Zi, then attended upon the 魯君 Lu state’s lord. The men of the Qi state attacked Lu, the Lu wanted to make Wu Qi general; but Wu Qi had taken a daughter of the Qi state as wife, and the Lu were suspicious of him. Wu Qi therefore wanted to make a reputation, and proceeded to kill his wife, in order to clearly state he was not with the Qi state. The Lu in the end made him general. In command he then attacked the Qi army, and greatly destroyed it.

A man of the魯Lu state, who perhaps hated Wu Qi, said: [The personality of Wu Qi, is to suspect and be inflexible to others. When he was young, his family had accumulated a thousand weights in gold, he roamed to find a post but could not, then proceeded to destroy his family, his native place and his associates laughed at him, Wu Qi then killed those who had slandered him to the number of over thirty men, then he went out eastwards from the gates of the Lesser Wei state. As he bade farewell to his mother, he bit his forearm and made a pact saying: {If I do not become a prime minister, will not again enter the Lesser Wei.} He then proceeded to attend upon the Zeng Zi master. He lived there for some time, his mother died, Qi for the rest of his life never returned home. Zeng Zi slighted him, and severed relations with Wu Qi. Wu Qi then went to the Lu state, where he studied military methods in order to attend upon the Lu ruler. The Lu state’s ruler was suspicious of him, Qi killed his wife in order to seek being made a general. Now the Lu state is small, yet has the reputation of being victorious in battle, thus all the dukes plot against the Lu. Furthermore the Lu and Lesser Wei were brotherly states, yet its lord employed Wu Qi, this would be akin to abandoning the Lesser Wei state. The Lu ruler then suspected Wu Qi, expressed his thanks and dismissed Wu Qi.

Wu Qi had heard that the魏Wei state’s 文侯 Wen Hou duke was a worthy man, he wanted to attend upon the latter. The Wen Hou then asked one of his men 李克 Li Ke: [Wu Qi what kind of a man is he?] Li Ke said: [Wu Qi is covetous and fond of women {One of the commentators has this criticism, that here Li Ke is saying that Wu Qi is covetous, but in a later passage the Wen Hou said that he knew Qi was incorruptible, how then can a man be covetous and yet incorruptible. Another says that though Li Ke said that Wu Qi was covetous, yet his family had more than a thousand weights in gold, which at the time was a huge fortune; however, he had destroyed the family fortune while seeking an official post, this is not the substance of being covetous, perhaps should have said that he was covetous of fame rather than money. As a result when his mother died he did not return home to her funeral, as he had sworn not to unless he was a prime minister; then he killed his wife all in order to become a general.}, in truth though, in the deployment of armies even司馬穰苴 Si Ma Rang Ju cannot surpass him.] Therefore the Wei state’s Wen Hou made him a general, he was sent to attack the秦Qin state, where he took five cities.

Wu Qi as general, together with the knights and soldiers as well as the lowest subordinate wore the same clothes and ate the same food. When sleeping he did not set up cover, on the march he did not ride a horse, he personally bundled up and carried his rations, and together with the knights and soldiers shared in the labours and hardships. Once a soldier was ill with an abscess, Wu Qi on his behalf sucked out the poison. The mother of the soldier heard and wept about it. Men said: [Your son is a soldier, yet the general of the army personally sucked out the poison of his abscess, why then do you cry?] The mother said: [Not true. In the previous year the lord Wu also sucked out an abscess on his father, his father during a battle did not turn on his heels, therefore died against the enemy. The lord Wu now sucks out an abscess on his son, I do not know when he will then die. This is why I cry for him.]

The Wen Hou because Wu Qi was good at deploying the army, was incorruptible and fair, was able to the utmost to acquire the hearts of the knights, then made him the senior general of the area 西河 Xi He with the title of 守 Shou defender, he was to oppose the Qin and the 韓 Lesser Han armies. {Again the name ‘Lesser Han’ is used to differentiate this Han, which is often used to denote Korea, from the larger Han dynasty.}

Biography Wu Qi 吳起 Part Two

魏文侯既卒，起事其子武侯。武侯浮西河而下，中流，顧而謂吳起曰：「美哉乎山河之固，此魏國之寶也！」起對曰：「在德不在險。昔三苗氏左洞庭，右彭蠡，德義不修，禹滅之。夏桀之居，左河濟，右泰華，伊闕在其南，羊腸在其北，修政不仁，湯放之。殷紂之國，左孟門，右太行，常山在其北，大河經其南，修政不德，武王殺之。由此觀之，在德不在險。若君不修德，舟中之人盡為敵國也。」武侯曰：「善。」

吳起為西河守，甚有聲名。魏置相，相田文。吳起不悅，謂田文曰：「請與子論功，可乎？」田文曰：「可。」起曰：「將三軍，使士卒樂死，敵國不敢謀，子孰與起？」文曰：「不如子。」起曰：「治百官，親萬民，實府庫，子孰與起？」文曰：「不如子。」起曰：「守西河而秦兵不敢東鄉，韓趙賓從，子孰與起？」文曰：「不如子。」起曰：「此三者，子皆出吾下，而位加吾上，何也？」文曰：「主少國疑，大臣未附，百姓不信，方是之時，屬之於子乎？屬之於我乎？」起默然良久，曰：「屬之子矣。」文曰：「此乃吾所以居子之上也。」吳起乃自知弗如田文。

田文既死，公叔為相，尚魏公主，而害吳起。公叔之僕曰：「起易去也。」公叔曰：「柰何？」其僕曰：「吳起為人節廉而自喜名也。君因先與武侯言曰：『夫吳起賢人也，而侯之國小，又與彊秦壤界，臣竊恐起之無留心也。』武侯即曰：『柰何？』君因謂武侯曰：『試延以公主，起有留心則必受之。無留心則必辭矣。以此卜之。』君因召吳起而與歸，即令公主怒而輕君。吳起見公主之賤君也，則必辭。」於是吳起見公主之賤魏相，果辭魏武侯。武侯疑之而弗信也。吳起懼得罪，遂去，即之楚。

楚悼王素聞起賢，至則相楚。明法審令，捐不急之官，廢公族疏遠者，以撫養戰鬥之士。要在彊兵，破馳說之言從橫者。於是南平百越；北并陳蔡，卻三晉；西伐秦。諸侯患楚之彊。故楚之貴戚盡欲害吳起。及悼王死，宗室大臣作亂而攻吳起，吳起走之王尸而伏之。擊起之徒因射刺吳起，并中悼王。悼王既葬，太子立，乃使令尹盡誅射吳起而并中王尸者。坐射起而夷宗死者七十餘家。

The Wei state’s Wen Hou then died, Wu Qi then attended upon his son the武侯Wu Hou duke. Once the Wu Hou was drifting down the 西河 Xi He river on a boat, in the middle of the river, he looked around and spoke to Wu Qi saying: [Beautiful indeed the mountains and rivers and their security, this is the Wei state’s treasures then!] Wu Qi replied: [It is in virtue and not in dangerous passes. Of old the 三苗氏 San Miao tribe had to their left the 洞庭 Dong Ting lake, to the right it had彭蠡 Peng Li, but virtue and honour was not established, Yu {This禹 Yu was one of the three legendary emperors of antiquity; the others being堯 Yao and舜 Shun.} exterminated them. The 夏 Xia dynasty’s king桀 Jie had at his residence, to its left were the rivers 黄河Huang He river and the 濟河 Ji river, to its right were the mountains 泰 Tai and華 Hua, the area of 伊闕 Yi Que was to the south, the area of 羊腸 Yang Chang was to their north {This area would be around the present day河南 He Nan. This Jie was the last emepror of the夏 Xia dynasty and was overthrown by the商 Shang state’s kind湯 Tang.}, they established policies that were not humane, Tang then liberated them. The state that was the 殷Yin dynasty under king紂 Zhou, to its left there was the 孟門 Meng Men {The capital of king Zhou was at朝歌 Zhao Ge, which is to the east of the present day Meng Shan mountain, hence there was a fortress that guarded the entrance to the valley of the mountain called孟門 Meng Men.}, to its right there was the太行 Tai Hang mountain range, the mountains of常山 Chang Shan range was to its north,大河 the Da He passed to its south, but they established policies that were not virtuous, king武王Wu of the周Zhou dynasty killed him. From this it can be observed, a state’s existence hinges on virtue and not on dangerous passes. If the lord does not establish virtue, those within this boat will mostly act for the enemy states.] The Wu Hou said: [Excellent.]

The Wu Hou immediately gave the post of defending the area of Xi He with the title of Shou Defender to Wu Qi, the latter then exceedingly had renown and reputation. The Wei state arranged for a prime minister, this was to be Tian Wen. Wu Qi was not pleased at this, he spoke to Tian Wen: [I request to engage you sir in a discussion on merit, permissible then?] Tian Wen said: [Permissible.] Qi said: [To command the armies, cause the knights and soldiers gladly die, the enemy states not daring to plot against us, you sir how would you compare to me?] Wen said: [Cannot compare to you sir.] Qi said: [To govern the crowd of officials, to be close to the populace, to give substance to the treasury and warehouses, you sir how do you compare to me?] Wen said: [Cannot compare to you sir.] Qi said: [To defend the area of Xi He and the Qin army dare not venture east, the Lesser Han and Zhao states conform as guests, you sir how do you compare to me?] Wen said: [Cannot compare to you sir.] Qi said: [Of these three, you sir in all are below me, yet your position has been augmented to be above me, why then?] Wen said: [The lord is young and the state is doubtful, the senior minister are not yet supportive, the populace not yet trusting, the plan is for the times, these would be with you sir? These would be with me?] Qi was silent indeed for a long time, then said: [Thse would be with you sir.] Wen said: [This then is the reason that I am positioned above you sir.] Wu Qi then knew himself not to be comparable to Tian Wen.

Tian Wen then died, one 公叔 Gong Shu became prime minister{This Gong Shu was of the ruling clan of the Lesser Han state.}, he esteemed the Wei state’s princess, and caused harm to Wu Qi. A household person of Gong Shu said: [Wu Qi can easily be removed.] Gong Shu said: [What to do then?] His household man said: [Wu Qi in character is frugal and incorruptible yet delights in his personal reputation. You lord therefore first speak to the Wu Hou and say: (Now Wu Qi is a worthy man, and the duke’s state is small, it also shares with the strong秦Qin state common borders, I privately fear that Wu Qi has not in his heart to stay.) The Wu Hou immediately said: [What to do?] [You lord therefore say to the duke: (Try to extend his stay by using the princess{The inference was to use the princess and offer her as his bride to see his response, ie. whether he would stay or leave.}, if Qi has the heart to stay thus will surely accept this. If he has not the heart to stay thus will surely decline it. The king can use this to divine his heart.) The lord therefore should summon Wu Qi and together with him return to the palace, this would immediately cause the princess to be angered and insult you lord. Wu Qi seeing the princess insulting you lord, thus will surely decline{Apparently this princess did not like Wu Qi and even the hint of giving her as bride to the latter was sufficient for her to take it out on the prime minister Gong Shu; Wu Qi on seeing this would obviously decline this marriage.}.] Therefore Wu Qi did indeed see the princess and her insulting the Wei prime minister, he did indeed decline the offer by the Wei state’s Wu Hou. The Wu Hou then suspected him and no longer trusted him. Wu Qi feared that he had committed an offense, he then departed, and immediately went to the state of楚 Chu.

The Chu state’s 悼王 king Dao had often heard that Wu Qi was a worthy, when he arrived he thus made him prime minister of the Chu state. Wu Qi clarified the laws and investigated the commands, he rejected those officials who were not earnest, deposed those of the ruling clan such as those who were distant relatives, in order to provide for and nurture those knights who would strive in battle. He gave importance and reliance on a strong army, and destroyed those who spread around rumours and those who were 從橫 liberated and without constraint. Thereafter he to the south pacified the 百越 Bai Yue tribes [The Bai Yue tribes were the ancestors of the present day occupants of Guang Dong province.]; to the north annexed the陳 Chen and蔡 Cai states and made these into Chu territory, and drove out the 三晉 San Jin state; to the west he punished the Qin state. All the dukes suffered under the Chu state’s military strength. Therefore Chu state’s noble relatives to the utmost wanted to harm Wu Qi. Then when king Dao died, all the members of the ancestral house as well as the senior ministers made rebellion and attacked Wu Qi, the latter ran to the body of the dead king and lay prostrate on it. They assaulted the followers of Wu Qi and then shot at and pierced Wu Qi, at the same time they also hit the body of king Dao. After king Dao was buried, the crown prince the太子Tai Zi succeeded to the throne becoming肅王臧Su king Zang, the king then sent a 令尹 Ling Yin military officer to execute those who had shot at Wu Qi and had hit the dead king’s body. Those guilty of shooting Wu Qi and those of their household that died numbered over seventy families.

太史公曰：世俗所稱師旅，皆道孫子十三篇，吳起兵法，世多有，故弗論，論其行事所施設者。語曰：「能行之者未必能言，能言之者未必能行。」孫子籌策龐涓明矣，然不能蚤救患於被刑。吳起說武侯以形勢不如德，然行之於楚，以刻暴少恩亡其軀。悲夫！

The 太史公 Grand Historian said: The world that had traditionally termed ‘military brigades’, these were all speaking of Sun Zi and his thirteen chapters and the Bing Fa; the treatise of Wu Qi, the world mostly have them all, therefore I will not discuss it, I only discuss their conduct of affairs and all that they established and carried out. The論語Lun Yu says: [One who is able to carry out something may not necessarily be able to speak on it, one who is capable of speaking on it may not necessarily be able to carry it out.] The Sun Bin plans and his treatise Pang Juan understood them, but in truth was not able to early on save him from calamity and being charged with punishments{This was a reference to Sun Bin who had been punished by having his legs broken; presumably, the Grand Historian was saying that he might have avoided his ultimate demise were he able to rescue Sun Bin, but that would not be true as Pang Juan was the instigator of causing this calamity for Sun Bin.}. Wu Qi spoke to the Wu Hou that making use of the situation and circumstances were not comparable to virtue, in truth he acted on it at the state of Chu, but because he had suppressed violence and lessened favouritism this caused his death. Sad indeed!

Biography 太公望 Tai Gong Wang

Of the various military treatises available, the六韜Liu Tao ranks high among the Seven Military Classics of China. It was purportedly authored by 呂尚 Lu Shang, perhaps better known as the 太公望 Tai Gong Wang.

The Qi state’s Tai Gong Family Biography

The Commentators say of the 齊 Qi state: The Tian Qi Chi Heavenly Qi Springs {The Chi would be a spring, presumably, the Qi state was a heavenly spring.} is at Qing Zhou {This city is at present a county capital-sized city in the province of山東 Shandong.} at the臨高縣Prefecture of Lin Gao to the south-east about fifteen miles from it. The records say: (The reason that Qi is called Qi, is because it is like the Heavens.}

太公望呂尚者，東海上人。其先祖嘗為四嶽，佐禹平水土甚有功。虞夏之際封於呂，或封於申，姓姜氏。夏商之時，申、呂或封枝庶子孫，或為庶人，尚其後苗裔也。本姓姜氏，從其封姓，故曰呂尚。呂尚蓋嘗窮困，年老矣，以漁釣奸周西伯。西伯將出獵，卜之，曰「所獲非龍非，非虎非羆；所獲霸王之輔」。於是周西伯獵，果遇太公於渭之陽，與語大說，曰：「自吾先君太公曰『當有聖人適周，周以興』。子真是邪？吾太公望子久矣。」故號之曰「太公望」，載與俱歸，立為師。

The太公望Tai Gong Wang named呂尚Lu Shang, he was a man from the area of Dong Hai Shang . {A Commentator said: This is the territory of the東夷 Eastern Yi, ie. a tribe of barbarians living to the east of the native Han populace. Another said: Surnamed姜Jiang , named牙Ya. The progeny of the炎帝Yan Di emperor, one of the three ancient emperors, and descendant of伯夷Bo Yi, who controlled the四岳Si Yue and had merit, ie. four mountain ranges though this is obviously a title given to men who were the four senior ministers and had the stability of a mountain range, thus was bestowed with the surname of呂Lu, and whose progeny were allowed to follow him in using the bestowed surname, Shang is of his descendants. Another said: Later when文王King Wen of the Zhou state obtained his services at the渭Wei river’s shore, the latter said: (My ancestral Lord the太公Tai Gong had longed for you), therefore his appellation was the太公望 Tai Gong Wang. Actually his字 word-name should be Ya, while Shang is his given name, later武王King Wu gave him the appellation of師尚父Teacher and Esteemed Father; for the Chinese, it is said that even for a single day as teacher, then for the rest of one’s life would be a father.} His ancestor formerly functioned as one of the四岳Si Yue ministers, assisted禹Yu in taming the floods and accrued much merit {Yu would be another of the Three Emperors of antiquity.}. In between the虞Yue and夏Xia dynasties of antiquity the family was bestowed with a fief at呂Lu, or perhaps at申Shen, {A Commentator said: Both places named are located in the present day prefecture of南陽宛 to its west; it is also mentioned that Shen was in antiquity a country named申伯國.} his surname was of the姜氏clan. During the time of the夏Xia and商Shang dynasties,申Shen, and呂Lu may have had branches of the family being of the people, or were made commoners, Shang was from this branch of the family. Originally they were surnamed of the姜氏Jiang Shi clan, following their being bestowed with a surname, therefore he was named Lu Shang. Lu Shang was often in poverty and in dire straits, he was quite old, {The Commentator say: Lu Shang frequently slaughtered cows at朝歌Zhao Ge, sold wine at孟津Meng Jin.} as a fisherman he hooked the西伯Xi Bo ruler of the周Zhou state. {A Commentator said: The Tai Gong fished at the茲泉 Zi Quan river, met with King Wen. This river began in the territory of岐州Qi Zhou from its岐山縣Qi Shan Xian district to its south-west where there is a valley called凡谷Fan Gu. Another said: The river磻磎Pan Xi began as a fountain, this was called the Zi Quan fountain, hence the name of the river. The waters of the fountain accumulated in a deep pool, and formed itself into an eddy and sandbank, this is where the Tai Gong fished, today people call it Fan Gu. The stone precipice is deep and tall, its gloomy bamboo forest is remote and secretive, the forest and marsh is luxuriant and an obstruction, traces of humans are scarcely seen. On the south-eastern corner there is a stone house, this should be where the Tai Gong lived. In the water there is a stone that can be used to fish from, this is where the Tai Gong lowered his hook. Where he knelt to cast his pole and bait, his two knees left a trace at this location, this is why there is the appellation of Pan Xi for the river. Its waters are clear and cool, wonderful and unusual, it flows north about 12 miles to enter the 渭Wei river. Another said: [Lu Wang was aged seventy and fished at a sandbank of the Wei river, three days and three nights the fish did not bite, Wang was very incensed, took off his clothes and hat. Above him there was a farmer, who saw an old and unusual man, he said to Wang: You sir therefore return the hook, must use a fine fishing line, an oderous bait, slowly and gently caste it, do not cause the fish to be frightened. Wang complied with his advice, the first time he let down the line he obtained a fish similar to a carp, the next time he obtained a carp. On cutting open the stomach of the fish he found a book, the book had words that said: Lu Wang would be bestowed with a fief at Qi. Wang thus knew that this was unusual} The Xi Bo was about to go hunting, he performed divination on it, it said: That which would be caught is not a dragon nor a snake, not a tiger nor a bear; that which will be caught will be a supporter to become hegemon and king. Therefore the Xi Bo of Zhou went hunting, and did really meet with the Tai Gong at the sunny side or south shore of the Wei river, they conversed and the Xi Bo was delighted, he said: [From my first Lord the Tai Gong who said: (As soon as a sage proceeds to Zhou, Zhou will accomplish a rise to power.) You are truly that one? My Tai Gong longed for you for a long time.] Therefore his appellation was called the Tai Gong Wang, the Xi Bo carried him on his chariot and all returned to camp, where he was established as teacher/instructor.

或曰，太公博聞，嘗事紂。紂無道，去之。游說諸侯，無所遇，而卒西歸周西伯。或曰，呂尚處士，隱海濱。周西伯拘羑里，散宜生、閎夭素知而招呂尚。呂尚亦曰「吾聞西伯賢，又善養老，盍往焉」。三人者為西伯求美女奇物，獻之於紂，以贖西伯。西伯得以出，反國。言呂尚所以事周雖異，然要之為文武師。周西伯昌之脫羑里歸，與呂尚陰謀修德以傾商政，其事多兵權與奇計，故後世之言兵及周之陰權皆宗太公為本謀。周西伯政平，及斷虞芮之訟，而詩人稱西伯受命曰文王。伐崇、密須、犬夷，大作豐邑。天下三分，其二歸周者，太公之謀計居多。

Someone said, the Tai Gong was learned and knowledgeable, he tried to attend upon Zhou the Shang King. Zhou had no virtue, and the Tai Gong left. He roamed to speak to all the dukes, none would meet him, and he finally returned west to the Zhou state’s Xi Bo. Another said, Lu Shang was treated as a knight, retired and hid by the sea shore. The Xi Bo of Zhou was arrested and kept at羑里You Li, two men散宜生San Yi Shen and閎夭Hong Yao previously knew of him and summoned Lu Shang. Lu Shang also said: [I have heard that the Xi Bo is sagacious, he also treats well and cares for the aged, I should go there.] The three men on behalf of the Xi Bo searched for beautiful women and wonderful objects, to present to King Zhou, in order to ransom the Xi Bo. The Xi Bo was able to leave, and return to his state. To say that Lu Shang therefore attended upon the Zhou state although it is distinct, but the important part is to act as the teacher and instructor to the Kings文Wen and武Wu. Chang the Xi Bo Zhou thus escaped from You Li and returned home, together with Lu Shang secretly plotted to establish virtue in order to overturn the rule of the Shang, the affair mostly involved armies and power as well as unusual tactics, {The Commentators say: King Wu asked the Tai Gong saying: The musical tubes whose sounds and noise, can it make known an army’s present circumstances? The Tiey Goong said: Profound that the king should ask this! The musical tubes have twelve tones, the most important contain five: Gong, Shang, Jiao, Zhi, and Yu, these are the proper sounds, for ten thousand generations this will not change. The energy of the五行Five Elements, are the constants of the way, and can be used to know the enemy. Metal, wood, water, fire, and earth, each using their superiority to attack the enemy. The method, use when the sky is clear and quiet without dark clouds or wind and rain, in the middle of the night send light cavalry to go forth, to reach the enemy’s fortress about nine hundred paces away, off to the side carrying musical tubes the width of both ears and loudly blow on them to frighten the enemy, if there are noises in response to the tubes, the enemy coming out to respond should be exceedingly small. If the Jiao tubes sound in response, one should usethe白虎 White tiger; if the Zhi tubes sound in response, one should use the玄武 Xuan Wu; if Shang tubes sound in response, should use the句 Ju order of battle; the five tubes are all not responding, and not having any Shang tone, one should use青龍Qing Long Green Dragon; these五行 Five Elements when collected and gathered, is a summon to assist in victory, to achieve the opportunity to defeat.} Therefore the later generations say that the military as well as the secret power of the Zhou was all a matter of the Tai Gong executing the basic tactics. The policies of the Xi Bo of Zhou became just, as well the Zhou terminated the accusations flying between the states of虞Yu and芮Rui, and the poets began to address him as the Xi Bo and was bestowed the name of文王King Wen. He punished the states of崇Chong and密須Mi Xu {The Commentators say that the state of Chong was located in the county of東郡 Dong Jun in its district of廩丘縣 Lin Qiu to its west, today it is named顧城 Gu Cheng. As for Mi Xu, this was of the姞Ji surname given by the Huang Di Yellow Emperor of antiquity, the location is in the province of河南 He Nan in its district of密縣 to its east, this was the ancient city of密城 Mi Cheng.}, the tribes of the犬夷Quan Yi, with his great accomplishment being豐邑Feng Yi city. All under heaven was divided into three, two of which were allied to the Zhou, these were mostly due to the plans and tactics of the Tai Gong.

文王崩，武王即位。九年，欲修文王業，東伐以觀諸侯集否。師行，師尚父左杖黃鉞，右把白旄以誓，曰：「蒼兕蒼兕，總爾眾庶，與爾舟楫，後至者斬！」遂至盟津。諸侯不期而會者八百諸侯。諸侯皆曰：「紂可伐也。」武王曰：「未可。」還師，與太公作此太誓。居二年，紂殺王子比干，囚箕子。武王將伐紂，卜龜兆，不吉，風雨暴至。群公盡懼，唯太公彊之勸武王，武王於是遂行。十一年正月甲子，誓於牧野，伐商紂。紂師敗績。紂反走，登鹿臺，遂追斬紂。明日，武王立于社，群公奉明水，衛康叔封布采席，師尚父牽牲，史佚策祝，以告神討紂之罪。散鹿臺之錢，發鉅橋之粟，以振貧民。封比干墓，釋箕子囚。遷九鼎，脩周政，與天下更始。師尚父謀居多。

When King Wen died,武王King Wu succeeded. In the ninth year, he wanted to establish the legacy of King Wen, he initiated an attack eastwards in order to observe whether the other dukes would assemble and follow suit or not. The army marched, the師尚父Honoured Teacher {In China it is said that for even one day as teacher then for the rest of one’s life will be as a father; the concept is that a teacher should be revered as one’s father.} his left hand held the黃鉞Yellow Battle-axe, his right hand grasped a白旄white battle pennant to perform an oath, said: [蒼兕Cang Si, Cang Si, {The Commentators say: Cang Si is the name of the official who was in charge of the boats. Another says that a cang si was a water creature with nine heads. As on this day they were making an oath with the multitude, and an order to hastily cross the river, therefore speak of a cang si because they feared the animal. In truth the words above and below combine wording for the grand oath.} supervise your multitude of people, to join you on the boats, those late to arrive are to be executed!] Therefore they reached盟津Meng Jin. The dukes who were not expected yet joined the assembled numbered eight hundred. The dukes all said: [紂Zhou {This Zhou was the last Shang dynasty king/emperor.} can be attacked.] King Wu said: [Not yet able.] Returned with the army, and joined with the Tai Gong to make this grand oath. They stayed for two years, Zhou killed the prince比干Bi Gan, imprisoned箕子Ji Zi {This Ji Zi was a sage at the court of King Zhou of Shang, he opposed the policies of the king and was imprisoned for it.}. King Wu was about to attack Zhou of the Shang, made divinatin about the coming war with turtle shells {Turtle shells were used in divinations at that time, the dried shell of a turtle was put in flames and the cracks that would appear were interpreted by an expert.}, it was not auspicious, violent winds and rain then arrived. The group of ministers were extremely fearful, only the Tai Gong vigorously encouraged King Wu, King Wu consequently marched. In the eleventh year in the first month, the army took an oath at牧野Mu Ye, to attack Zhou of the Shang. The army of Zhou was defeated. Zhou turned and ran, mounted the鹿臺Lu Tai Deer Tower, they therefore pursued and executed Zhou of the Shang. The next day, King Wu was enthroned at the temple, the group of dukes made offerings of clear water, one Wei Kang Shu offered a variegated coloured mat, the Honoured Teacher pulled the sacrificial animal, one史佚Shi Yi composed the prayer of blessing, in order to proclaim to the spirits that they had punished Zhou for his crimes. They then distributed the moneys from the Deer Terrace, and issued the millet from the鉅橋Ju Qiao granary, in order to revive the impoverished populace. Bestowed honour and an altar to Bi Gan at his burial mound, and released Ji Zi from gaol. Transferred the九鼎Nine Sacred Tripods, established the policies of the Zhou dynasty, and together with all under heaven began the changes. The Honoured Teacher provided most of the plans.

於是武王已平商而王天下，封師尚父於齊營丘。東就國，道宿行遲。逆旅之人曰：「吾聞時難得而易失。客寢甚安，殆非就國者也。」太公聞之，夜衣而行，犁明至國。萊侯來伐，與之爭營丘。營丘邊萊。萊人，夷也，會紂之亂而周初定，未能集遠方，是以與太公爭國。太公至國，脩政，因其俗，簡其禮，通商工之業，便魚鹽之利，而人民多歸齊，齊為大國。及周成王少時，管蔡作亂，淮夷畔周，乃使召康公命太公曰：「東至海，西至河，南至穆陵，北至無棣，五侯九伯，實得征之。」齊由此得征伐，為大國。都營丘。蓋太公之卒百有餘年，子丁公呂伋立。

Therefore King Wu thereafter pacified the Shang and was king over all under heaven, then bestowed on the Honoured Teacher the land of齊營丘Ying Qiu at Qi.

The Tai Gong then went eastwards forthwith to his state, on the way he took lodging and delayed the march. He encounted a traveller who said: [I have heard that time is difficult to acquire and easy to lose. The guest sleeps quite peacefully, tardiness is not for one who goes forthwith to a country.] The Tai Gong heard this, in the night dressed up and marched, at dawn he reached the country. The 萊侯 Lai Hou Duke came to attack, and disputed with him for the area of營丘Ying Qiu. Ying Qiu was on the border of Lai. The people of Lai, were of the夷Yi tribes, at the time of the chaos of Zhou of the Shang and the Zhou empire’s rule being newly established, and had not yet able to gather in the distant areas, this was the reason for the Lai disputing with the Tai Gong for the country. The Tai Gong reached the country, then established policies, and based on their customs, simplified the ceremonies, inculcated in them the business of trade and artisan skills, made opportune the advantages of fishing and salt, therefore the populace and other people increasingly went over to the Qi state, and Qi became a big country. Then when成王King Cheng of Zhou was young, and the state of管蔡Guan Cai created rebellion, the Yi tribes of the淮Huai river region was on the boundary with the Zhou empire, thus the sent as envoy Duke召康公Zhao Kang Gong to order the Tiey Goong saying: [To the east until the sea, to the west to the黃河Huang He, to the south to 穆陵Mu Ling, to the north to無棣Wu Di, there are five dukes and nine hegemons, in truth they should obtain punishment.] The Qi state from then on was able to send troops out to punish, and became a big country. The capital was at營丘Ying Qiu. When the Tai Gong died he was over a hundred years old, his son the丁公呂伋 Duke Ding named Lu Ji succeeded {The Tai Gong had his fief at Ying Qiu and in total his family ruled for five generations; all of them were buried within the Zhou empire. Another Commentator said that the Tai Gong though bestowed with a fief stayed on at the Zhou empire being the grand tutor, he died and was buried there.}.

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