Zhan Guo Ce(The Stratagems of the Warring States)is the collection of stories of the Political Strategists from the Warring States Period (475-221BC) to the Qin Dynasty (221-206BC) and the Han Dynasty (206BC-220AD). In the Warring States Period, there were some persons who focused on the study of the strategic diplomacy by conjecturing the thoughts of the king, to unite with some countries, and isolate, attack the enemy countries, such persons were called the Political Strategists in the history. They managed to collect the materials or sometimes feign the events, then to practice in order to improve their debate skills, which were compiled into Zhan Guo Ce. There were also many beautiful prose works in this book, greatly influencing the literature of the later generations.

Some of the materials were lost in the dissemination of the book. The extant Zhan Guo Ce is edited according to the states, i.e. Eastern Zhou, Western Zhou, Qin, Qi, Chu, Zhao, Wei, Han, Yan, Song Wei, Zhong Shan, with 460 chapters in 33 sections, covering the politics, military and diplomacy in 270 years between 490-221BC.