Ji Xiao Xin Shu

The Jixiao Xinshu (simplified Chinese: 纪效新书; traditional Chinese: 紀效新書; pinyin: Jìxiào xīnshū) or New Treatise on Military Efficiency was a military manual written by the Ming dynasty general Qi Jiguang (戚繼光). The book discusses military strategy, combat tactics, weapons and equipment, training, armed and unarmed fighting techniques, logistics, and other aspects of warfare. The Jixiao Xinshu is one of the earliest Asian extant texts to describe armed fighting techniques, and is one of several late Ming texts to address the relevance of martial arts to military training and warfare. Several contemporary martial arts styles of Qi's era are mentioned in the book, including the staff method of the Shaolin temple.

In the late 16th century the military of the Ming dynasty was in poor condition. As the Mongol forces of Altan Khan raided the northern frontier, China's coastline fell prey to wokou pirates, who were ostensibly Japanese in origin. Qi Jiguang was assigned to the defense of Zhejiang in 1555, where he created his own standards of military organization, equipment, tactics, training, and procedures. He published his thoughts on military techniques, tactics, and strategies in the Jixiao Xinshu after achieving several victories in battle.

There are two editions of the Jixiao Xinshu. The first edition was written from 1560-1561 and consists of 18 chapters. It is known as the 18 chapter edition. The second edition was published in 1584 during Qi's forced retirement with re-edited and new material compiled in 14 chapters. It is known as the 14 chapter edition.

The chapters included in the 18-chapter edition are as follows:

In the Jixiao Xinshu, Qi Jiguang recommended a 12 man team known as the "mandarin duck formation" (Chinese: 鴛鴦陣; pinyin: yuānyāng zhèn), which ideally consisted of 11 soldiers and one person for logistics.

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