尉繚子

by Liao Wei

"尉繚子" by Wei Liao is a military strategy text written during the Warring States period. Part of China's Seven Military Classics, this work advocates balancing civil and military approaches to governance. It emphasizes agriculture and people as a state's greatest resources, promoting humanistic values while recommending harsh punishment for heterodoxy. Notably containing little actual battlefield strategy, the text reveals its author as a theoretician concerned with foundational principles of state power and virtuous leadership.