劉向書錄 — Liu Xiang's editorial preface to his compilation

The Strategies of the Warring States (Zhanguo Ce) is Liu Xiang's Han-dynasty compilation, arranged by state, of the persuasions, stratagems, and anecdotes that Warring States wandering counselors used to move the courts of their age. This file carries Liu Xiang's own editorial preface (書錄), the report he submitted to the throne on completing his collation: how the surviving palace copies of the book had come down disordered and duplicated under half a dozen different titles — Guoce, the Stratagems of the States; Guoshi, the Affairs of the States; Duanchang, the Short and the Long; Shiyu, Discourses on Affairs; Changshu, the Long Book; and Xiushu, the Book of Ordering — and how he sorted them by their times, cut the duplicates, corrected characters worn down to the point of being mistaken for others, and settled on thirty-three pian under the title he gave the whole: Zhanguo Ce, the Stratagems of the Warring States, covering two hundred and forty-five years from after the Spring and Autumn period to the rise of Chu and Han.

Having accounted for the book itself, Liu Xiang turns to a history of the decline it records: the founding virtue of Kings Wen and Wu of Zhou and the schools and rites they set in order; the slow fading of that virtue through the Five Hegemons and the ministers who still upheld their rulers by righteousness — Zichan of Zheng, Shuxiang of Jin, Yan Ying of Qi — down to Confucius, whose teaching reached only seventy-two disciples and no ruler of his age; and then the wreck of rites and righteousness after Confucius's death, as the Tian clan seized Qi and the six ministers of Jin divided that state among themselves, opening the age of naked force that the persuaders Su Qin, Zhang Yi, Gongsun Yan, Chen Zhen, Su Dai, and Su Li served with their doctrines of the Vertical and the Horizontal alliances. The preface follows the story through Qin's rise on deceit and cunning to its unification of the world, its burning of the Odes and Documents and burial of the Ru scholars alive, and its collapse within fourteen years of the Second Emperor's accession.

Liu Xiang closes by weighing what he has collected: not a model for governing a state in peace, but the record of extraordinary stratagems that men of high talent brought to bear in an age when the Way could not be practiced — expedients of the occasion, worth preserving and worth reading even where they cannot be admired. Names of persons and states are given in Hanyu pinyin without tone marks, with the Chinese characters supplied at first appearance; where the preface quotes Confucius directly, the quotations are translated independently from the classical Chinese as Liu Xiang gives them, not drawn from any published rendering of the Analects.

Translated for the Good Works Library directly from the classical Chinese, which is printed in full below. J. I. Crump's Chan-kuo Ts'e (1970; revised 1996) is the standing complete English translation of the Strategies of the Warring States; it is named here as a control-in-existence but was not consulted, and this translation makes no claim of firstness.

Contents

• Liu Xiang's Editorial Preface (劉向書錄)

Translation

Liu Xiang's Editorial Preface (劉向書錄)

Your servant Xiang (向), Commissioner Superintending the Waterways of the Left and Grand Master of the Palace (光祿大夫), states: Of the books of the Zhanguo Ce that I have collated in the palace collection, the surviving scrolls of the palace copies were disordered and jumbled together. There were also eight pian arranged by state, but they were few and incomplete. Your servant Xiang therefore took those arranged by state, set them roughly in order by their times, separated out those that were not in sequence and used them to supplement one another, cut out the duplicates, and obtained thirty-three pian. In the original the characters were often mistaken and defective, worn down into half-characters: "Zhao" 趙 written as "Xiao" 肖, "Qi" 齊 written as "Li" 立. Characters of this kind were many. As for the titles the palace copies originally bore, some were called Guoce, the Stratagems of the States; some Guoshi, the Affairs of the States; some Duanchang, the Short and the Long; some Shiyu, Discourses on Affairs; some Changshu, the Long Book; some Xiushu, the Book of Ordering. Your servant Xiang holds that in the age of the Warring States the wandering officers assisted the states that employed them and devised stratagems and plans for them, and that the book should therefore be called Zhanguo Ce, the Stratagems of the Warring States. Its affairs carry on after the Spring and Autumn period and end with the rise of Chu and Han: the events of two hundred and forty-five years. All have now been settled and the bamboo cured, and the book may be copied out fair.

The account runs: The house of Zhou first rose with Kings Wen and Wu. They exalted the Way and virtue, raised high the rites and righteousness, established the teaching of the Biyong and the Pan Palace and of the village schools, and set forth the transforming power of rites and music, of strings and song, which alters custom. They ordered the human relations and rectified husband and wife, and there was no one under Heaven who did not understand it clearly. They expounded the meaning of filial piety and brotherly respect and the conduct of honest sincerity, and so the way of righteous action filled all under Heaven, and in the end it was brought about that punishments were laid aside for more than forty years. Distant regions admired their righteousness, and none failed to submit as guests; the Ya and the Song sang and chanted in remembrance of their virtue. Down to the time after Kings Kang and Zhao, though virtue had declined, the guiding cords of order were still clear. By the Spring and Autumn period four or five hundred years had passed, yet the remnant of that work and the legacy of that splendor still flowed on and had not been extinguished. When the Five Hegemons arose, they honored and served the house of Zhou. After the Five Hegemons, though the rulers of the time had no virtue, the ministers who assisted their rulers — men such as Zichan (子產) of Zheng, Shuxiang (叔向) of Jin, and Yan Ying (晏嬰) of Qi — upheld their rulers and aided the government, and so the states stood side by side in the Middle Kingdom. Still they supported one another by righteousness, moved one another with song and discourse, joined with one another by diplomatic visits and court audiences, made themselves one by appointed meetings, and rescued one another by covenant and oath. The commands of the Son of Heaven still had somewhere to take effect. States that met and feasted together still had a sense of shame. Small states had something to lean upon, and the hundred families had somewhere to rest. Therefore Confucius said, "If a man can govern the state with ritual and yielding, what difficulty will there be?" How great was the spreading transformation of Zhou! After the Spring and Autumn period, when the many worthies who assisted the states had died, rites and righteousness declined. Though Confucius discussed the Odes and the Documents and settled the Rites and the Music, so that the kingly Way was brilliantly clear, he was a common man without position; those he transformed were seventy-two men and no more, all of them the finest under Heaven, and no ruler of the time honored him. For this reason the kingly Way in the end did not flourish. Hence the saying: "Without authority it is not established; without position it does not move."

After Zhongni had died, the Tian clan took Qi and the six ministers divided Jin. The Way and virtue were greatly abandoned, and high and low lost their order. By the time of Duke Xiao of Qin, ritual and yielding were cast away and war was prized; benevolence and righteousness were discarded and deceit and cunning employed, merely to seize strength, and nothing more. Men who usurped and robbed were ranked as marquises and kings; states of deceit and cunning rose up and were established as the strong. So it was handed on from one to another in imitation, and those born later took it for their teacher. Thus they swallowed and destroyed one another, annexing the great and absorbing the small; armies lay exposed in the field the year round, and shed blood filled the plains. Father and son were not close to each other, elder and younger brother were not at peace with each other, husbands and wives were scattered apart, and no one could keep his life secure. In that darkness the Way and virtue were cut off. In the later age it grew worse still. There were seven states of ten thousand chariots and five of a thousand chariots, matched as equals and contending for power: these, indeed, were the Warring States. They were greedy and gluttonous without shame, striving forward without ever being satisfied. State differed from state in government and instruction, and each decided matters for itself. Above there was no Son of Heaven; below there was no regional chief. By force and by feats they contended for strength, and the victor took the place of honor. Weapons and armor never rested, and deceit and falsehood arose on every side. At such a time, though a man possessed the Way and virtue, he could not put his plans into practice; strength that had been contrived leaned on natural barriers and trusted in its strongholds. They formed alliances and exchanged hostages, weighted their agreements and bound themselves with oaths, in order to guard their states. Therefore Mencius and Sun Qing (孫卿), scholars of the Ru arts, were cast aside by their age, while the crowd of wandering persuaders and schemers of power were honored by the common world. Thus Su Qin (蘇秦), Zhang Yi (張儀), Gongsun Yan (公孫衍), Chen Zhen (陳軫), and Su Dai (代) and Su Li (厲) and their kind gave birth to the doctrines of the Vertical and the Horizontal, of the Short and the Long, and tilted now to the left and now to the right. Su Qin made the Vertical alliance, Zhang Yi the Horizontal. With the Horizontal, Qin would be emperor; with the Vertical, Chu would be king. Whatever state such a man was in grew weighty; whatever state he left grew light.

Yet at that time Qin was the mightiest of the states and the feudal lords were just then weak. Su Qin bound them together, and for a time the six states became one, to spurn Qin and turn their backs on it. The men of Qin were afraid and did not dare let their troops peer out from within the passes, and for twenty-nine years the world did not cross weapons. Yet Qin's position was convenient and its terrain advantageous, and the men of power and stratagem all raced there first. Su Qin at first wished for the Horizontal, but Qin would not employ him, and so he went east and joined the Vertical alliance. After Su Qin died, Zhang Yi linked up the Horizontal, the feudal lords listened to him, and they faced west and served Qin. Therefore the First Emperor relied upon the security of the four barriers, held the difficult ground of Xiao and Han, straddled the richness of Long and Shu, listened to the plans of many men, and rode upon the achievement of six generations. So he ate away at the six states as a silkworm eats, absorbed the feudal lords, and possessed all under Heaven together. He leaned upon the corrupt devices of scheming and deceit and made an end of the sincerity of good faith. He had no teaching of the Way and virtue, no transforming power of benevolence and righteousness, by which to bind together the hearts of all under Heaven. He employed punishments and penalties for his government and trusted petty arts for his Way. So he burned the Odes and the Documents and buried the Ru scholars alive; above, he belittled Yao and Shun, and below, he held himself far from the Three Kings. The Second Emperor was worse still. Kindness was not extended downward and feeling did not reach upward; ruler and minister suspected one another and flesh and bone grew estranged. The way of transformation was shallow and thin, and the guiding cords of order fell to ruin. The people saw no righteousness and hung suspended in unrest. They held all under Heaven for fourteen years, and then the world collapsed utterly. This was the ruin worked by deceit and falsehood. Compared with the virtue of a true king, how far off it was! Confucius said, "Lead them with government and align them with punishments, and the people will keep out of trouble but have no shame. Lead them with virtue and align them with the rites, and they will have shame and will also correct themselves." To make the world have a sense of shame is the reason transformation can be brought about. If a man merely uses deceit and falsehood to snatch a living and curry favor, and this is done from above, by what shall those below be led? That Qin came to ruin — was it not fitting?

In the age of the Warring States the virtue of rulers was shallow and thin, and those who made plans and stratagems for them could not but take the run of circumstance for their capital and act according to the moment. Therefore their plans propped up what was urgent and held up what was toppling; they were the expedients of the occasion. Though they cannot serve to govern a state and transform it by teaching, they were the force of arms and armor coming to the rescue in an emergency. All these were men of high talent and outstanding gifts. They measured what the rulers of their time were able to carry out, and brought forth extraordinary stratagems and uncommon wisdom, turning danger into safety and shifting ruin into survival. This too is a delight, and all of it is worth looking at. The editorial report on the Zhanguo Ce collated by your servant Xiang, Commissioner Superintending the Waterways of the Left and Grand Master of the Palace.

Colophon

This file was prepared for the Chinese shelf of the Good Works Library, translated independently from the classical Chinese text printed below. Liu Xiang's preface is a single continuous essay rather than a set of discrete anecdotes, and it is rendered here as continuous prose in the order the source gives it. Only the main text is translated; the interlinear commentary of Bao Biao and Yao Hong, together with the collation notes set in 〔 〕, are printed in the source layer but not rendered into English.

J. I. Crump's Chan-kuo Ts'e (1970; revised 1996) is a complete published English translation of the Zhanguo Ce and is named here as a control-in-existence; it was not fetched or consulted in preparing this file, and no claim of firstness is made for this translation.

A note on two direct quotations: the preface twice quotes Confucius — once on governing by ritual and yielding, once on leading the people by virtue and rites rather than by government and punishment — and these lines are translated here independently from the classical Chinese as the preface itself gives them, not checked against or drawn from any standard English rendering of the Analects.

Prepared for the Good Work Library by the Tianmu Anglican Church with AI-assisted translation and editorial work.

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Source Text: 戰國策 劉向書錄

Classical Chinese text in the Chinese Wikisource transcription of the 士禮居叢書 edition, with the commentary of Bao Biao and Yao Hong and the collation notes set in 〔 〕 as the transcription carries them. Presented complete for reference, study, and verification alongside the English translation above; the commentary is not translated.

護左都水使者光祿大夫臣向言：所校中《戰國策》書，中書餘卷，錯亂相糅莒。又有國別者八篇，少不足。臣向因國別者，略以時次之，分別不以序者以相補，除復重，得三十三篇。本字多誤脫為半字，以「趙」為「肖」，以「齊」為「立」，如此字〔姚本「字」，一本作「類」字。〕者多。中書本號，或曰《國策》，或曰《國事》，或曰《短長》，或曰《事語》，或曰《長書》，或曰《脩書》。臣向以為戰國時，游士輔所用之國，為之策謀，宜為《戰國策》。其事繼春秋以後，訖楚、漢之起，二百四十五年間之事，皆定以殺青，書可繕寫。

敘曰：〔姚本集，「曰」下有「夫」字。〕周室自文、武始興，崇道德，隆禮義，設辟雍泮宮庠序之教，陳禮樂弦歌移風之化。敘人倫，正夫婦，天下莫不曉然。論孝悌之義，惇篤之行，故行義之道滿乎天下，卒致之刑錯四十餘年。遠方慕義，莫不賓服，雅頌歌詠，以思其德。下及〔姚本劉作「其德下及」。曾作「德下及」。錢作「以思其德下及」。集作「其恩德下及」。　鮑本「以思其德」，一作「恩德其上」。「下及」，一無「下」字。〕康、昭之後，雖有衰德，其綱紀尚明。及春秋時，已四五百載矣，然其餘業遺烈，流而未滅。五伯之起，尊事周室。五伯之後，時君雖無德，人臣輔其君者，若鄭之子產，晉之叔向，齊之晏嬰，挾君輔政，以並立於中國，猶以義相支持，歌說以相感，聘覲以相交，期會〔姚本集作「朝會」。〕以相一，盟誓以相救。天子之命，猶有所行。會享之國，猶有所耻。小國得有所依，百姓得有所息。故孔子曰：「能以禮讓為國乎何有？」周之流化，豈不大哉！及春秋之後，眾賢輔國者既沒，而禮義衰矣。孔子雖論《詩》、《書》，定《禮》、《樂》，王道粲然分明，以匹夫無勢，化之者七十二人而已，皆天下之俊也，時君莫尚之。是以王道遂用不興。故曰：「非威不立，非勢不行。」

仲尼既沒之後，田氏取齊，六卿分晉，道德大廢，上下失序。至秦孝公，捐禮讓而貴戰爭，弃仁義而用詐譎，苟以取強而已矣。夫篡盜之人，列〔姚本錢、劉同。曾作「例」。〕為侯〔札記今本誤重「侯」字。〕王；詐譎之國，興立〔姚本錢、集作「立」。曾作「兵」。〕為強。是以傳〔姚本一作「轉」。　鮑本「傳」作「轉」。○〕相放效，後生師之，遂相吞滅，并大兼小，暴師經歲，流血滿野，父子不相親，兄弟不相安，夫婦離散，莫保其命，湣然道德絕矣。晚世益甚，萬乘之國七，千乘之國五，敵侔爭權，蓋〔鮑本「蓋」作「盡」。○〕為戰國。貪饕無耻，競進無厭；國異政教，各自制斷；上無天子，下無方伯；力功〔姚本曾、集作「巧」。劉作「功」。〕爭強，勝者為右；兵革不休，詐偽並起。當此之時，雖有道德，不得施謀；有設之強，〔鮑本「不得施謀，有設之強」作「不得施設，有謀之強」。○〕負阻而恃固；連與交質，重約結誓，以守其國。故孟子、孫卿儒術之士，棄捐於世，而游說權謀之徒，見貴於俗。是以蘇秦、張儀、公孫衍、陳軫、代、厲之屬，生從橫短長之說，左右傾側。蘇秦為從，張儀為橫；橫則秦帝，從則楚王；所在國重，所去國輕。

然當此之時，秦國最雄，諸侯方弱，〔姚本集、曾無「弱」字。〕蘇秦結〔姚本錢、劉，「結」下有「從」字。〕之，時六國為一，以儐背秦。秦人恐懼，不敢闚兵於關中，天下不交兵者，二十有九年。然秦國勢便形利，權謀之士，咸先馳之。蘇秦初欲橫，秦弗用，故東合從。及蘇秦死後，張儀連橫，諸侯聽之，西向事秦。是故始皇因四塞之固，〔鮑本「固」作「國」。○〕據崤、函之阻，跨隴、蜀之饒，聽眾人之策，乘六世之烈，以蠶食六國，兼諸侯，〔姚本一本下有「而」字。〕并有天下。杖於謀詐〔鮑本「謀詐」作「詐謀」。○〕之弊，終於〔鮑本「於」作「無」。○　札記今本「於」作「無」。丕烈案：「無」字是也。〕信篤之誠，無道德之教，仁義之化，以綴天下之心。任刑罰以為治，信小術以為道。遂燔燒詩書，坑殺儒士，上小堯、舜，下邈三王。二世愈甚，惠不下施，情不上達；君臣相疑，骨肉相疏；化道淺薄，綱紀壞敗；民不見義，而懸於不寧。撫天下十四歲，天下大潰，詐偽之弊也。其比王德，豈不遠哉！孔子曰：「道之以政，齊之以刑，民免而無耻；道之以德，齊之以禮，有耻且格。」〔札記今本「格」誤「假」。〕夫使天下有所恥，故化可致也。苟以詐偽偷活取容，自上為之，何以率下？秦之敗也，不亦宜乎！

戰國之時，君德淺薄，為之謀策者，不得不因勢而為資，據時而為。〔姚本脫字。〕故其謀，扶急持傾，為一切之權，雖不可以臨國〔鮑本無「國」字。○〕教化，兵革〔姚本錢，「革」下有「亦」字。〕救急之勢也。皆高才秀士，度時君之所能行，出奇策異智，轉危為安，運亡為存，亦可喜。皆可觀。護左都水使者光祿大夫臣向所校《戰國策》書錄。

Source Colophon

The Chinese text follows the Chinese Wikisource transcription of the Strategies of the Warring States (article 戰國策 (士禮居叢書本)/劉向書錄, revision of 7 October 2024), inspected from a witness copy captured on 22 August 2026. Chinese Wikisource transcriptions are published under CC BY-SA 4.0 and the GFDL; the text itself is ancient and in the public domain. The wiki header, navigation links, license templates, and modern contributors' footnotes have been removed; the text is otherwise complete and unaltered.

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