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Wubian 武編 "Book of warfare" is a military treatise written during the late Ming period 明 (1368-1644) by Tang Shunzhi 唐順之 (1507－1560), courtesy name Yingde 應德 or Yixiu 義修, posthoumous title Xiangwengong 襄文公, from Wujin 武進 (today's Changzhou 常州, Jiangsu).
Tang once participated, as supreme commander of the province of Zhejiang, in Hu Zongxian's 胡宗憲 (1512-1565) campaigns against the Wokou pirates 倭寇. For his military achievements he was appointed Right Assistant Censor-in-chief (you jian duyushi 右僉都御史). Tang wrote books on a vast range of topics, from astronomy, music, geography and mathematics to prognostication and military affairs, as well as commentaries to historical periods (like Zuozhi shimo 左氏始末), and the literary theory Wenbian 文編. Among his military writings are Guangyou zhangonglu 廣右戰功錄 and Shizuan zuobian 史纂左編. His collected writings are called Jingchuan Xiansheng wenji 荊川先生文集.
The Wubian is 10-juan long (in the Siku quanshu 四庫全書 version), in older editions 12 juan, and is divided into two parts (Qianji 前集, Houji 後集) with more than 180 short chapters. It covers many aspects of warfare, from the appointment of generals, battle arrays and fighing techniques to the description of firearms and their use, and logistics.
The chapters follow the arrangement of the Song-period 宋 (960-1279) military encyclopaedia Wujing zongyao 武經總要, and the text quotes many sources from history, like the famous strategist books Sunzi 孫子, Simafa 司馬法 and Li Wengong wendui 李衛公問對, as well as memorials submitted to the throne.
In the second part, the author used examples from history to demonstrate how to achieve success in military campaigns, like Emperor Gaozu's 漢高祖 (r. 206-195 BCE) defeat of the rebel Qing Bu 黥布 at the beginning of the Han period 漢 (206 BCE-220 CE), Liu Yao's 劉曜 (r. 318-329) conquest of Luoyang during the Sixteen States period 十六國 (300~430), Jing Hou's 侯景 (503-552) rebellion during the Liang period 梁 (502-557), or Cao Liyong's 曹利用 (d. 1029) rebellion during the Northern Song period 北宋 (960-1126).
There is a print by the Manshan Studio 曼山館 from 1618, of which several copies are preserved. The Beijing Library 北京圖書館 owns a moveable-character print from the Qing period 清 (1644-1911). There are also several manuscript versions circulating.