Jixiao Xinshu

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 Chinese general Qi Jiguang (戚繼光) of the Ming dynasty. The book discusses the subjects of 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 texts to describe armed fighting techniques, and is one of several late Ming texts to address the relevance of the 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 monastery.

In the late 16th century, the military of the Ming dynasty was in poor condition. As the Mongols forces of Altan Khan raided the northern frontier, China's coastline fell prey to wokou pirates. Qi Jiguang was assigned to the defense of Zhejiang in 1555. With no preexisting standards defining military organization, equipment, tactics, training, or procedures, it fell upon Qi to develop his own. He published his recommendations in the Jixiao Xinshu after achieving several victories in battle.

There are two editions of the Jixiao Xinshu. The first edition, written around 1560-1561, consists of 18 chapters, and is thus also known as the 18 chapter edition. The later edition, re-edited and also including some new material, had a total of 14 chapters, and was known as the 14 chapter edition. It was published in 1584 around the time of General Qi's retirement. The chapters included in the 18-chapter edition are as follows:

In the Jixiao Xinshu, Qi Jiguang introduced the so-called "mandarin duck formation" (Chinese: 鴛鴦阵; pinyin: yuānyāng zhèn). This formation consisted of a unit of eleven soldiers and one person for logistics.

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