The relationship between guiguzi and strategists. Scholars recognize Guiguzi as a strategist. However, Guiguzi, as an ideological work, is different from the thoughts of Su Qin and Zhang Yi, representatives of strategists. Su Qin and Zhang Yi, the representatives of strategists in the Warring States Period, advocated the integration of Zhang Yi. Lian Heng's diplomatic struggle and speech skills originated from the self-theory of Guiguzi, such as "enjoyment", "flying pliers", "Xu He", "chuai" and "Mo". Therefore, Su and Zhang were concrete users of Guiguzi thought in the Warring States Period, and they frequently controlled the situation during the Warring States Period.
The relationship between guiguzi and military strategists. Guiguzi is not only the ancestor of strategists, but also the ancestor of strategists in the Warring States period. His student Sun Bin is both a strategist. Zhang Yi, another of his students, created Lian Heng Theory, which became the military strategy of Qin in the late Warring States Period. Many expositions in Guiguzi are universal, abstract and principled, which can be used in speech and military affairs. For example, "Chuai Pian" said: "Measure the size, count the number of people, weigh whether there are goods or not, predict the number of people, be rich or poor, and distinguish the risks and disadvantages of the terrain, whether it is good or bad, whether it is long or short, whether it is good or bad, whether it is near or not, whether it is colorful, whether it is a blessing, whether it is near or not, whether it is a change. This is the basic condition for a military strategist to "know yourself and know yourself, and be invincible." "So Guiguzi's theory and Sun Tzu's Art of War are * * * consistent in the basic theoretical system, and they are all technologies to save themselves and defeat the enemy according to the changing laws of nature and things. The difference is that Guiguzi talks about winning by words, while Sun Tzu's art of war talks about winning by war.
The relationship between guiguzi and taoism. Later generations regarded Guiguzi as one of the founders of Taoism. Some scholars recorded that Laozi had preached in Hotan, Xinjiang, and Wang, one of his three disciples, was Guiguzi. When he returned to the Central Plains, he preached and gave lectures in the upper reaches of Hanshui River, namely Shiquan area. Although this statement is quite magical, it does have a certain historical basis and is a valuable original idea. Comparing the similarities and differences between Laozi and Guiguzi, there are very similar places. Their theories all advocate conforming to the laws of nature and the world, which are detached and abstract, and do not specifically involve people and things in the world, and can be used by all countries and people. Their theories all have the viewpoint of simple dialectics. In Laozi, there are many terms of opposition, and it is believed that opposition can be transformed under certain conditions. There are also opening and closing, stopping, turning back, sequence, length, wisdom and stupidity, courage and timidity, advancing and retreating, being cheap and expensive, being true and false, being identical and different, and being idle and expensive. There are great differences in the evaluation of Guiguzi in China ancient literature classics, including positive evaluation, negative evaluation and positive and negative evaluation.
Positive comments: For example, the historian Sima Qian wrote biographies of pre-Qin philosophers in Historical Records, among which military strategists accounted for the largest proportion, including biographies of Su Qin, Zhang Yi, He and Lu. Sima Qian affirmed that Su Qin and Zhang Yi were masters of guiguzi, and basically affirmed the comments of strategists such as Su Qin and Zhang Yi. For another example, the great literary critic Liu Xie also holds a positive attitude. In Wen Xin Diao Long, he compared Guiguzi with Mencius, Zhuangzi, Mozi, Shen Buhai and Shang Yang, and made a positive evaluation: "Silicon Valley is boundless, with all its meaning." In Wen Xin Diao Long, he spoke highly of the military strategists, and made an accurate evaluation of Zhuan Xu and Tong Fei in Guiguzi: "Fighting with the Warring States, debaters are surging, and they are good advisers. Zhuan Xu is full of clever language, while Tong Fei is full of subtle skills. One person's argument is better than Jiuding's treasure, and a three-inch tongue is better than a million heroes. Six seals are aboveboard, and five seals are hidden. " (See Liu Xie's On the Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons) Liu Xie's appreciation of the ingenious words and techniques in Guiguzi, his affirmation of the length and width of the debater's skills, and his evaluation of the debate and winning the lion with his tongue are all quite high. For another example, the great poet Chen Ziang is also very positive about Guiguzi. In the eleventh chapter of Feeling, he made a wonderful comment with a poem: "I love Guiguzi, Qingxi has a clean atmosphere, including the world, and I stay in the white clouds." The seven chivalrous men contend, and there is no king in the world. Clouds are not expensive enough, so we should follow the bad times. Knowing the rice universe, the quantity is not profitable. I don't think that the mountain is longevity, and the air is elk. " In addition, for another example, the scholar in the Southern Song Dynasty was as tall as his grandson, and his evaluation was not low. In his book Guiguzi, he said: "Guiguzi's book, its ingenuity, its tricks, its changes and its rhetoric are all covered by the statements of the Warring States Period. When the husband opens and closes, the god of change is also; One piece is another, and there are several old people. The art of Ghost Valley is often obtained by closing the hole, which is wise and clear, and is conducive to self-cracking and irresistible. Appreciating wealth is a poor day's use, a thief's private interests, a conspiracy, and a brief introduction to the golden chamber. And Guigu is exhausted, and it is also a generation of heroes! " Guiguzi concentrated the wisdom, tactics and rhetoric of the Warring States period, surpassing the sum of Yi and Lao, and the immortal was free, and its intrigue was even more mysterious than that of military strategists. Guiguzi used it skillfully and was really a generation of strategists. Sun Deqian, a scholar of the Qing Dynasty, also spoke highly of it. He said in "A General Examination of Various Scholars": "Those who plan vertically make friends with ancient palms. Guiguzi's book clearly shows the way to make friends with the suburbs, but if we can grasp the risks of mountains and rivers, monitor the strength of soldiers, know the number of people, distinguish between the virtuous and the foolish, turn decay into magic, and eliminate invisibility, it is not difficult to continue to write meritorious deeds in Zhang Yi and Su Qin who have been in China for more than ten years. ..... covering today's world, a vertical and horizontal world. Those who taste as envoys will achieve great success if they can hide their troubles in their mouths and give the country intangible blessings, so take them out and tell the world that they have the responsibility to make friends. " (See Sun Deqian's "A General Examination of the Scholars") Obviously, Sun Shi fully affirmed the significance of Guiguzi to diplomatic strategy, and believed that engaging in diplomatic activities based on the truth expounded by Guiguzi can occupy mountains and rivers, observe the military situation, know the number of people, distinguish between the monarch and the fool, improvise and eliminate hidden dangers. The future competitive world is like a vertical and horizontal world. If diplomats can use their eloquence to eliminate disasters and chaos, save the country from war and get happiness, their contribution is also very great.
Negative comments: For example, Yang Xiong said in "Qian Yuan in the Eyes of Law" at the end of the Western Han Dynasty: "Or ask:' Yi and Qin studied Ghost Valley, but learned vertical and horizontal characters, and each has lived in China for more than ten years. "Is it a husband?" said, "Deception is also the evil of saints." "He stood on the position of Confucian saints and accused cheat people of Guigu. Another example is Liu Zongyuan in the Tang Dynasty, who said in "Distinguishing Guiguzi" that "Guiguzi" should be taken for nothing. Liu Xiang and Ban Gu recorded books in the Han Dynasty, but there were no guiguzi. Guiguzi came out later, but the risk was steep and thin. I'm afraid it's hard to believe in troubled times. Scholars should be ignorant. ..... especially, being late is the advantage of seven. Strange and absurd, I can't pass the exam. His words are wonderful, but they are beneficial. It makes people crazy and easy to fall. "In Liu Zongyuan's view, when Han historians recorded books, there was no Guiguzi, and Guiguzi came later. This is rude and despicable. If recorded in history, people will fall into chaos, and scholars should not tell stories. In his view, Yin Fu's later seven techniques are even more bizarre, and his views are even more bizarre, which will make people crazy and degenerate. For another example, Song Lian, an essayist in the early Ming Dynasty and known as the "head of the founding civil servants" in the Ming Dynasty, also denied Guiguzi from the standpoint of maintaining Confucian orthodoxy and centralized rule of the dynasty. He said in "Gui Gu Zi Bian": "Generally speaking, all his books are the art of blending, linking and pondering. ..... It is all petty wisdom, but if you use it at home, your family will die; If it is used at home, the country will be ruined; If you use it at home, you will lose the world. A bachelor's and doctor's degree should be spurned. " Song Lian cursed and regarded Guiguzi as a snake and mouse skill, which would have serious consequences for the country and the world. Scholars should revile it instead of talking about it.
Neutral evaluation: such as the views of Sun Chang Wuji, Ji Xiaolan and Ruan Yuan. In the preface to Guiguzi, Sun Chang Wuji affirmed, on the one hand, that "those who are vertical and horizontal, therefore, distinguish and be good at words, so as to communicate with each other." . The Han Dynasty (perhaps "The World" in History of Han Dynasty avoided the name of Emperor Taizong) thought that this pedestrian official was ordered to leave Xinjiang to make things. On the other hand, he pointed out: "Make an excuse to make a fool of yourself and save the day. As for the thief, it hurts loyalty and confuses the country. On the one hand, the editor-in-chief of Sikuquanshu thinks that Gao's evaluation of Guiguzi is "excessive" because it transcends Yi and Lao, on the other hand, he thinks that Song Lian accuses Guiguzi of "snake and mouse wisdom" and "excessive suppression", and Liu Zongyuan says that "it is beneficial to speak strangely." Finally, Ji Xiaolan thinks: "Although Gaiqi's skill is insufficient, the strangeness of his writing has turned into strangeness, which is beyond the reach of future generations. Ruan Yuan, a famous scholar in the Qing Dynasty, said in the Postscript of Guiguzi: "According to legend, this book was recorded in Sui and Tang Dynasties Records, and the surviving people have been handed down from generation to generation. The situation is the book of the son of a military strategist, and Tao Zhu has a long history. People who are interested in ancient books are very happy to read them! Ruan Yuan's statement about "the son of a unique strategist" deserves special attention, pointing out the important position of Guiguzi in academic history, and affirming that it is one of the representative works of pre-Qin philosophers.