Guiguzi
Guiguzi () is a collection of ancient Chinese texts compiled between the late Warring States period and the end of the Han Dynasty. The work, between 6,000–7,000 Chinese characters, discusses techniques of rhetoric. Although originally associated with the School of Diplomacy, the Guiguzi was later integrated into the Daoist canon. Authorship. There has been much speculation about the identity of the writer of "Guiguzi", the origin of his name (literally 'The Sage of Ghost Valley') and the authenticity of the work as a whole. 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 (, i.e., Guigu family firstborn) who taught persuaders Su Qin and Zhang Yi. Thus, this Guigu is traditionally considered the founder of the School of Diplomacy (; ), a school of thought which was particularly interested in rhetoric. Guigu Xiansheng is also said to have taught famous Warring States generals Sun Bin and Pang Juan. The association of the name Wang Xu () is not  generally held to be supported. Whereas books I and II are attributed to the same author, Book III is likely an addition by a later author. There is no material in the text to support the view held by some that "Guiguzi" is a book on military tactics. Contents. "Guiguzi" comprises three books, with chapters on different strategies of observation and persuasion. 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.