Robert’s Reviews > The Seven Military Classics of Ancient China > Status Update

A lot of mentions of fortifications, especially field fortifications. The earlier works (e.g. The Art of War) often referred to "feudal lords" as if they were a part of the terrain.

2 page end note about the historicity of Wu Tzu

I like how the word "Shih" (勢) has a 4-page long endnote explaining its usage and meaning in Sun Tzu's Art of War. Also, I think I like Pinyin better than Wade-Giles.

The ancients loved their lists: the five grains, the five weapons, the six animals, etc...

King Wu's constant response of "Excellent" to T'ai Kung's suggestions/lectures makes me wonder if he is actually Bill and/or Ted transported from the Future and improbably set up as a king in Early Chou era ancient China. Meanwhile, T'ai Kung's list of army equipment that the army needs reads like some sort of ancient Dept of Defense wish-list.

The instructions for how to subvert a state in T'ai Kung's Six Secret Teachings (under Martial Secret Teachings) could be a general description of the current politics of the United States.