Work in Progress

Sima Rangju (Chinese:司马穰苴) or Tian Rangju (Chinese:田穰苴) (unknown date of birth and death) is a famous Chinese military general during the Spring and Autumn period, often seen as the spiritual successor of Jiang Ziya. He served in the Qi kingdom, defending it from Jin (晋) and Yan (燕) invaders, and went as high in the army as Da Sima, the Minister of War. As a result, he is also sometimes called Sima Rangju (Chinese: 司马穰苴). He was later sacked by the Duke Jing of Qi (齐景公), who apparently listened to a hypocrite. He was depressed and got ill, resulting in his death. Little is known about his life due to the lack of historical records, but his thoughts and ideas passed on. Sima Qian, a famous Chinese historian, praised his works.


Note, the following is a translation from the zh wiki The Prime minister of Duke Jing of Qi, Yan Ying (晏樱) recommended him to the duke and became a general. He was ordered to restore territory lost to the Kingdoms of Jin and Yan. In order to build his prestige within the army, he suggested to the emperor to send someone to oversee his actions. The Duke sent Zhuang Gu (庄贾) as the overseer. Zhuang Gu was always arrogant, and he was late attending a parade. Rangju followed the regulations and ordered for Zhuang Gu to be killed. When a messanger sent by Zhuang Gu retrieved a document, giving Zhuang Gu the command of the army. Rangju said:" When the general is commanding an army, he can diobey orders from the King." He then asked a law officer 军正?:"What punishment does he deserve for galloping in the army camp? " The answer was "execution". Rangju then killed the messanger for galloping freely inside the army camp, also killing his horse and destroyed his cart.


Rangju enforced the laws with fairness and his prestige increased rapidly within the army. He defeated the armies of Jin and Yan, restoring lost land. He was promoted to Da Sima, the Minister of War. His family, the Tians, also became more powerful. Some other families under the Duke of Qi including the Baos (鲍), the Gaos (高) and the Guos (国) saw him as a threat and slandered false allegations of Rangju infront of the Duke. In the end, the Duke dismissed Rangju. Rangju died very soon. The next leader of the Tian family Tian Qi (田乞) therefore despised those three families. The son of Tian Qi, called Tian Chang (田常), later destroyed the three families.


Tian Chang's great grandson King Wei of Qi (齐威王) organised the works of Rangju and it was known as the The Precepts of War.


Original zh paragrah 齐景公相国晏婴推荐他,得齐景公重用,命为将军,派他收复晋燕两国侵占的国土。司马穰苴为树立威信,请齐景公指派大臣为监军,于是齐景公派出庄贾为监军。庄贾一向骄横,阅军时迟到,司马穰苴依军法处斩庄贾。然后等庄贾派去找齐景公求救的使者取得符节回来,穰苴回答:“将在军,君令有所不受。”这时穰苴居然再次问军正:“驰三军法何?”军正回答“当斩”。司马穰苴说:“君之使不可杀之。”又以骑马闯入军营的罪处置,斩了使者的仆人,杀了马,毁了车。司马穰苴执法严明,使军心大震,击败晋燕军队,收回失去的国土,官拜大司马,由此被称为司马穰苴,田氏势力越发膨胀。鲍氏、高氏、国氏将司马穰苴视为眼中钉,不断的在齐景公面前诽谤司马穰苴,于是齐景公将司马穰苴免职,司马穰苴不久后病死。田氏的家族领袖田乞与族人田豹因此痛恨三氏。日后田乞的儿子田常将鲍氏、高氏、国氏族灭。田常的曾孙齐威王田因齐将司马穰苴的兵法附于古兵法之后,称为“司马法”。

References edit

[1]穰苴斩监----田穰苴(战国)

Notes edit

Also, there is an article on Rangju in the zh wiki, though that one is a short stub as well [2]