The author is referred to as the eponymous Guiguzi, active near the 4th century BC. The name translates literally to 'Sage of Ghost Valley'.
There are many theories about Guiguzi's origin. One hypothesizes him to be from the nation of Wey (present day Henan province); the other claims him to be from Yedi (邺地) (present day Hebei) in the state of Wei. Other theories attribute his origin to either the city of Dancheng in ancient nation of Chen, or near the county of Yunyang (Shaanxi) on the bank of the Han River.
During the Wei and Jin dynasties, people regarded him as a hermit and a Taoist priest who lived away from the masses in the Ghost Valley (鬼谷).[2][3]
Guiguzi is also one of the tutelary spirits claimed by the founder of Weixinism, in recent years.
Research
There has been much speculation about the identity of the writer of Guiguzi and the authenticity of the work as a whole.[4] While there has been no final outcome to this discussion, Chinese scholars believe that the compilation reflects a genuine corpus of Warring States period writings on political lobbying. While most writers doubt the assertion that the Guiguzi was written by a single personality, the Records of the Grand Historian do refer to a Guigu Xiansheng (鬼谷先生, i.e., Mr. Guigu) who taught persuaders Su Qin and Zhang Yi.[5] Thus, this Guigu is traditionally considered the founder of the School of Diplomacy (縱橫家; Zònghéngjiā), a school of thought which was particularly interested in rhetoric.[6] Guigu Xiansheng is also said to have taught famous Warring States generals Sun Bin and Pang Juan.[4]
The association of the name Wang Xu (王詡) is not generally held to be supported.[4] Whereas books I and II are attributed to the same author, Book III is likely an addition by a later author.[7] There is no material in the text to support the view held by some that Guiguzi is a book on military tactics.
Contents
Principles of rhetoric and persuasion taught in Guiguzi include keeping oneself hidden and silent so that the counterpart cannot see what one is doing. Ideally, the counterpart should be convinced that his decisions were made all by himself. This is considered as the ideal course to follow.[8] Coercion or sacrificing oneself to achieve the intended purpose is not recommended.[9]
Compared to western philosophy, parallels can be made between the teachings of Guiguzi with those of Machiavelli.[10]
Guiguzi comprises three books, with chapters on different strategies of observation and persuasion.[11]
Translations
There have been translations of Guiguzi into modern Chinese, German, English, and Russian (see below). Almost all modern annotated texts and western translations rely heavily on the explanations of the texts attributed to the Eastern Jin scholar Tao Hongjing.[12]
^ a b cWu, Hui (2016). Guiguzi, China's First Treatise on Rhetoric: A Critical Translation and Commentary. Carbondale, Illinois: Southern Illinois University Press. p. 9. ISBN 9780809335268.
^Wu, Hui (2016). Guiguzi, China's First Treatise on Rhetoric: A Critical Translation and Commentary. Carbondale, Illinois: Southern Illinois University Press. p. 11. ISBN 9780809335268.
^Feng, Youlan (1983). A history of Chinese philosophy. Princeton, USA: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-02021-3.
^Wu, Hui (2016). Guiguzi, China's First Treatise on Rhetoric: A Critical Translation and Commentary. Carbondale, Illinois: Southern Illinois University Press. p. 90. ISBN 9780809335268.
^Wu, Hui; Swearingen, C. Jan (2016-08-10). "Interality as a Key to Deciphering Guiguzi: A Challenge to Critics". Canadian Journal of Communication. 41 (3): 503–519. doi:10.22230/cjc.2016v41n3a3187. ISSN 0705-3657.
^Henkel, Jeremy (2006). A Treatise on Efficacy: Between Western and Chinese Thinking (review). Philosophy East and West 56 (2):347-451.
^Wu, Hui (2016). Guiguzi, China's First Treatise on Rhetoric: A Critical Translation and Commentary. Carbondale, Illinois: Southern Illinois University Press. pp. vii–viii. ISBN 9780809335268.
^Wu, Hui (2016). Guiguzi, China's First Treatise on Rhetoric: A Critical Translation and Commentary. Carbondale, Illinois: Southern Illinois University Press. p. 10. ISBN 9780809335268.
Guiguzi, China's First Treatise on Rhetoric: A Critical Translation and Commentary. Trans. Hui Wu. Carbondale, Ill.: Southern Illinois University Press, 2016.
Thunder in the Sky: Secrets on the Acquisition and Exercise of Power. Trans. Thomas Cleary. Boston: Shambbala Books, 1994.
Michael Robert Borschat. "'Guiguzi': A Textual Study and Translation". University of Washington Ph.D. Thesis, 1985.
Chung Se Kimm, "Kuei-Kuh-Tse: Der Philosoph vom Teufelstal," 1927.
Robert van Gulik: 'Kuei-ku-tzu, The Philosopher of the Ghost Vale", "China", XIII, no 2 (May 1939).
«Гуй Гу-цзы». В кн: Искусство управления. Сост., пер., вступ. ст. и коммент. В.В. Малявина. М.: «Издательство Астрель»: «Издательство АСТ», 2003. С.244-318.
Xu Fuhong. Guiguzi Yan Jiu. Shanghai: Shanghai Classics Press, 2008.