During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, wars broke out between governors, and people of insight engaged in military affairs summed up military experiences and lessons and studied ways to win. This kind of scholar was called a strategist in ancient times. All the works of military strategists who discuss military affairs are called military books. History of Art and Literature in Han Dynasty and History of War recorded 53 works of military strategists before Han Dynasty, with 790 articles and 43 volumes, which were divided into four schools: tactics, situation, yin and yang and skills. Lv Simian's Introduction to Academic Strategists in the Pre-Qin Dynasty said: "Both Yin and Yang books and Shu books are dead. There is nothing in the book Strategy and Situation. Some soldiers of Yin and Yang Division said that when the weather is related, superstition will also be involved. Military experts say that this is the most practical use. However, today is different from the past, so it will not be passed on to the future. In terms of military situation, today is different from the past. But the reason is similar, so its existence can still be understood by many future generations. When it comes to military tactics, we pay attention to the principle of using troops, and there is no difference between today and ancient times. The words of the military strategists can be tested by ancient academic thinkers, and this family is broken. "
The main representatives of military strategists are Sun Wu and Sima Yi at the end of the Spring and Autumn Period. During the Warring States Period, there were Sun Bin, Wuqi, Liao Wei, Wei Wuji and Leitian. There were Sean and Han Xin in the early Han Dynasty. The current military strategists' works include Yin Fujing of the Yellow Emperor, Six Towers and Three Views, Sun Tzu's Art of War, Sima Fa, Sun Bin's Art of War, Woods, Wei Liaozi, Jiang Yuan, Wonders from Hundreds of Battles, Questions between Emperor Taizong and Li Weiguo, etc. Although there are similarities and differences among various theories, they all contain rich elements of simple materialism and dialectics. The practical activities and theories of military strategists had great influence on that time and later generations, and they were the precious military ideological heritage of China in ancient times.