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The real name of Guiguzi (鬼谷子) was Wang Xu (王诩).He was a famous ancient philosopher who lived in the Chu State (Today's Hunan and Hubei Province) during the Warring State Period.After being a hermit in Guigu (Ghost Valley), he called himself "Guiguzi".

The Thought of "Yin and Yang" and the Book "Guiguzi"

Guiguzi was the founder of his thought "Yin and Yang" which is important to keep a balance between everything.He wrote his book "Guiguzi" which was a distinctive academic work of Pre-Qin Dynasty.The yin-yang thought in the book which was written by Guiguzi had profound philosophy meaning and exerts a complex influence on the later ages.The contents of the Guiguzi text covered the relationship between lobbying techniques and the theory of yin and yang, techniques of political evaluation of the state, evaluation of political relationships between state leaders and ministers, psychological profiling of lobbying targets and rhetorical devices.

The Book Guiguzi he wrote is composed of the twelve chapters of Dividing Apart and Closing Together, Reacting, Internal Doorbar, Flying and Pinching, Preventing Fractures, Opposing and Converging, Fathoming, Approaching, Weighing, Plotting, Deciding and Tally Speech; the seven tactics of Secret Tallies and the two chapters of Chi Shu (pre-negotiation issue analyzing) and  Middle Classic.

The book mainly deals with the approaches and strategies adopted to gain interests in the complicated political arena filled with conflicts and disputes, with emphasis on constant opportunity seizing and decision making according to the changing situation. The principles in the book provide a whole set of theoretic bases and methodologies for political strategists.

Famous Students learned from Guiguzi

Guiguis is not only the represent of Political Strategists but also a master of military and international Relations And his work “Guiguzi” was a basic of the thought of Political Strategists for existing.Most writers doubt the assertion that the Guiguziwas written by a single personality, Guigu Xianzheng, who was said in the Records of the Grand Historian to have been the teacher of the late Warring States political lobbyists Su Qin and Zhang Yi. A tradition that Guigu Xiansheng was the teacher of renowned Warring States generals Sun Bin and Pang Juan is also considered to be a late confabulation.

Especially,Su Bin, the writer of the book"“Master Sun’s Art of War” which was a famous book in the art of the war in ancient China, once learned from Guiguzi in the Warring State Period.

Guiguzi was once a hermit in Tianmen Mountain 

According to the recorded documents of Yongding History,Wang Xu once went along Lishui River to the area of Zhangjiajie ,and he became a hermit in Tianmen Mountain while he looked for a large cave, which was regarded by himself as the best places to be a hermit in the mounatin.Gui Chinese word meaning ghost because this valley remains full of mist over whole years and looks like hidden ghosts and mysterious.  After he was a hermit in Tianmen Mountain, he called himself "Guiguzi". Guiguzi means "the Master of the Ghost Walley ", or "the Sage of Ghost Valley ".

Today, tourists can see some sightseeings named after Guiguzi, such as Guigu Plank Road, Guigu Cave,while you travel in Tianmen Mountain.Here we show the photoes for you as below:

It was recorded that Guiguzi had been lived as a hermit in Tianmen Mountain for many years untill he died at last.And he once studied to found a kind of Chinese Kungfu,Hard Qigong,which is also called Zhangjiajie Hard Qigong.

The book of Guiguzi has been translated into modern Chinese, German, English and Russian.Scholars today mainly study the book from the aspects of military and political tactics, so as to use it for reference in diplomatic rows and international military struggles of today. The Book also had a great impact overseas. Oswald Spengler, the noted German historian and philosopher, hailed Guiguzi as an influential figure due to his insights into historical possibilities and the excellent command of diplomatic skills. Some scholars in Japan believe in Guiguzi's theories and regard themselves as Guiguzi followers. Guiguzi's Theories and Methods of Psychological Tactics written by Chen Yinglue of Taiwan has been translated into English in the US. And many experts and scholars in Southeast Asian nations are engaged in the research of The Book and there are academic institutions solely dedicated to the studies of Guiguzi's theories.