36 Strategies of
Ancient China - from San guo yan yi
"The Thirty-Six Strategies" is a a Chinese collection of
36 proverbs commented as militaristic tactics.
Often attributed to Sun Tzu, this is generally rejected by
scholars since Sun Tzu lived during the Spring and Autumn Period of China.
It is believed by many to have been written by Zhuge Liang
of the Three Kingdoms period.
Romance of the Three Kingdoms is a
book with a long and impressive history. Nevertheless, this novel concerning
the history of 1800 years ago is still acknowledged as a literary masterpiece
today.
The novel (San Guo Yan Yi) covers one hundred and thirteen years of Chinese history, starting in 168 A.D. and ending with the reunification of the land in 280 A.D.
Three Kingdoms describes a fascinating dynastic-cycle: the fall of the Han Dynasty under Emperor Ling due to the Yellow Scarves rebellion, the division of the Empire into the three kingdoms – Shu, Wei, and Wu – and the reunification of the empire by the Jin Dynasty.
The novel (San Guo Yan Yi) covers one hundred and thirteen years of Chinese history, starting in 168 A.D. and ending with the reunification of the land in 280 A.D.
Three Kingdoms describes a fascinating dynastic-cycle: the fall of the Han Dynasty under Emperor Ling due to the Yellow Scarves rebellion, the division of the Empire into the three kingdoms – Shu, Wei, and Wu – and the reunification of the empire by the Jin Dynasty.
Regarding this novel and another
Chinese classic Water Margin,
there is a popular saying in China that goes: "少不讀水滸, 老不讀三國", translated as "The young shouldn't read Water
Margin while the old shouldn't read The Three Kingdoms." The
former depicts the lives of outlaws and their defiance with the established
social system. Depicting frequent violence, brawls, passionate brotherhood and
an emphasis on machismo, it could easily have a negative influence on young
boys. The latter presents all kinds of sophisticated stratagems, deceptions,
frauds, trickeries, traps and snares employed by the three kingdoms and their
individual characters to compete with each other, which might tempt the
experienced old readers (the elderly are traditionally well respected, trusted
and considered wise and kindhearted in Chinese society) to use them to harm
other people. Also, old people are supposed to "know the will of the
heavens" (says Confucius). They shouldn't
exhaust or strain themselves with always having to consider how to deceive
others.
Content taken from Thirty-Six Strategies - Wikisource
Chapter
1 - Winning Strategies
· Strategy 1 "瞒天过海" (Man tian guo hai) -
Deceive the sky to cross the ocean.
o Moving
about in the darkness and shadows, occupying isolated places, or hiding behind
screens will only attract suspicious attention. To lower an enemy's guard you
must act in the open hiding your true intentions under the guise of common
every day activities.
· Strategy 2 "围魏救赵" (Wei wei jiu zhao) -
Surround Wei to rescue Zhao.
o When the
enemy is too strong to attack directly, then attack something he holds dear.
Know that in all things he cannot be superior. Somewhere there is a gap in the
armour, a weakness that can be attacked instead.
o In other
words, you may try to attack the relatives or dear ones of the enemy to weaken
him psychologically.
· Strategy 3 "借刀杀人"( Jie dao sha ren)
- Borrow one's hand to kill. (Kill with a borrowed knife.)
o Attack
using the strength of another (because of lack of strength or do not want to
use own strength). Trick an ally into attacking him, bribe an official to turn
traitor, or use the enemy's own strength against him.
· Strategy 4 "以逸待劳" (yi yi dai lao) -
Make your enemy tire himself out while conserving energy.
o It is an
advantage to choose the time and place for battle. In this way you know when
and where the battle will take place, while your enemy does not. Encourage your
enemy to expend his energy in futile quests while you conserve your strength.
When he is exhausted and confused, you attack with energy and purpose.
· Strategy 5 "趁火打劫" (Chen huo da
jie) Use the opportunity of fire to rob others. (Loot a burning house.)
o When a
country is beset by internal conflicts, when disease and famine ravage the
population, when corruption and crime are rampant, then it will be unable to
deal with an outside threat. This is the time to attack.
· Strategy 6 "声东击西" ( sheng dong ji xi)
- Feign an attack in the east and attack in the west.
o In any
battle the element of surprise can provide an overwhelming advantage. Even when
face to face with an enemy, surprise can still be employed by attacking where
he least expects it. To do this you must create an expectation in the enemy's
mind through the use of a feint.
Chapter 2 - Enemy Dealing/ Confrontation
Strategies
· Strategy
7 "无中生有"
( Wu Zhong Sheng You)- Create something
from nothing.
o You use the same feint twice. Having reacted to the first and
often the second feint as well, the enemy will be hesitant to react to a third
feint. Therefore the third feint is the actual attack catching your enemy with
his guard down.
· Strategy
8 "暗渡陈仓"(
An Du Chen Cang) - Secretly utilize the Chen Chang
passage. (Repair the highway to take the crude path.) e.g., the Allied invasion
of Normandy and the Pas de Calais deception.
o Attack the enemy with two convergent forces. The first is the
direct attack, one that is obvious and for which the enemy prepares his
defense. The second is the indirect, the attack sinister, that the enemy does
not expect and which causes him to divide his forces at the last minute leading
to confusion and disaster.
· Strategy
9 "隔岸观火"
(Ge An Guan Huo) - Watch the fires burning
across the river.
o Delay entering the field of battle until all the other
players have become exhausted fighting amongst themselves. Then go in full
strength and pick up the pieces.
· Strategy
10 "笑里藏刀"
(Xiao Li Cang Dao)- Knife sheathed in a
smile.
o Charm and ingratiate yourself to your enemy. When you have
gained his trust, you move against him in secret
· Strategy
11 "李代桃僵"
(Li Dai Tao Jiang)- Plum tree sacrifices
for the peach tree. (Sacrifice the silver to keep the gold.)
o There are circumstances in which you must sacrifice
short-term objectives in order to gain the long-term goal. This is the scapegoat
strategy whereby someone else suffers the consequences so that the rest do not.
· Strategy
12 "顺手牵羊"
– (Shun Shou Qian Yang) Stealing a goat along the way (Take the opportunity to pilfer
a goat.)
o While carrying out your plans be flexible enough to take
advantage of any opportunity that presents itself, however small, and avail
yourself of any profit, however slight.
Chapter 3 - Attacking Strategies
· Strategy
13 "打草惊蛇"
–(Da Cao Jing She) Startle the
snake by hitting the grass around it.
o When you cannot detect the opponent's plans launch a direct,
but brief, attack and observe your opponent reactions. His behavior will reveal
his strategy.
· Strategy
14 "借尸还魂"
– (Jie Shi huan hun) Borrow another's corpse to resurrect the soul. (Raise a
corpse from the dead.)
o Take an institution, a technology, or a method that has been
forgotten or discarded and appropriate it for your own purpose. Revive
something from the past by giving it a new purpose or to reinterpret and bring
to life old ideas, customs, and traditions.
· Strategy
15 "调虎离山"
– ( Diao Hu Li Shan) Entice the tiger to leave its mountain lair.
o Never directly attack an opponent whose advantage is derived
from its position. Instead lure him away from his position thus separating him
from his source of strength.
· Strategy
16 "欲擒姑纵"
– ( Yu Qin Gu Zong) In order to capture, one must let loose.
o Cornered prey will often mount a final desperate attack. To
prevent this you let the enemy believe he still has a chance for freedom. His
will to fight is thus dampened by his desire to escape. When in the end the
freedom is proven a falsehood the enemy's morale will be defeated and he will
surrender without a fight.
o
· Strategy
17 "抛砖引玉"
– (Pao Zhuan Yin Yu) Tossing out a brick to get a jade
o Prepare a trap then lure your enemy into the trap by using
bait. In war the bait is the illusion of an opportunity for gain. In life the
bait is the illusion of wealth, power, and sex.
· Strategy
18 "擒贼擒王"
– ( Qin Zei Qin Wang)Defeat the enemy by capturing their chief.
o If the enemy's army is strong but is allied to the commander
only by money or threats then, take aim at the leader. If the commander falls
the rest of the army will disperse or come over to your side. If, however, they
are allied to the leader through loyalty then beware, the army can continue to
fight on after his death out of vengeance.
Chapter 4 - Chaos Strategies In Confused
Situations
· Strategy
19 "釜底抽薪"
– (Fu Di Chou Xin) Remove the firewood under the cooking pot. (Remove the stick
from the axe.)
o When faced with an enemy too powerful to engage directly you
must first weaken him by undermining his foundation and attacking his source of
power.
· Strategy
20 "混水摸鱼"
–(Hun Shui Mo Yu) Fish in disturbed
waters.
o Before engaging your enemy's forces create confusion to
weaken his perception and judgment. Do something unusual, strange, and
unexpected as this will arouse the enemy's suspicion and disrupt his thinking.
A distracted enemy is thus more vulnerable.
· Strategy
21 "金蝉脱壳"
– (Jin Chan Tuo Qiao) Slough off the cicada's shell. (False appearances mislead the
enemy.)
o When you are in danger of being defeated, and your only
chance is to escape and regroup, then create an illusion. While the enemy's
attention is focused on this artifice, secretly remove your men leaving behind
only the facade of your presence.
· Strategy
22 "关门捉贼"
– ( Guan Men Zhuo Zei) Shut the door to catch the thief.
o If you have the chance to completely capture the enemy then
you should do so thereby bringing the battle or war to a quick and lasting
conclusion. To allow your enemy to escape plants the seeds for future conflict.
But if they succeed in escaping, be wary of giving chase.
· Strategy
23 "远交近攻"
– (Yuan Jiao Jin Gong) Befriend a distant state while attacking a neighbor.
o It is known that nations that border each other become
enemies while nations separated by distance and obstacles make better allies.
When you are the strongest in one field, your greatest threat is from the
second strongest in your field, not the strongest from another field.
· Strategy
24 "假道伐虢"
– (Jia Dao Fa Guo)
Obtain safe passage to conquer the Kingdom of
Guo.
o Borrow the resources of an ally to attack a common enemy.
Once the enemy is defeated, use those resources to turn on the ally that lent
you them in the first place.
Chapter 5 - Proximate Strategies
Gaining Grounds
· Strategy
25 "偷梁换柱"
- (Tuo Liang Huan Zhu) Replace the
beams with rotten timbers.
o Disrupt the enemy's formations, interfere with their methods
of operations, change the rules in which they are used to following, go
contrary to their standard training. In this way you remove the supporting
pillar, the common link that makes a group of men an effective fighting force.
· Strategy
26 "指桑骂槐"
– ( Zhi Sang Ma Huai ) Point at the mulberry and curse the locust.
o To discipline, control, or warn others whose status or
position excludes them from direct confrontation; use analogy and innuendo.
Without directly naming names, those accused cannot retaliate without revealing
their complicity.
· Strategy
27 "假痴不癫"
– ( Jia Chi Bu Dian) Pretend to be a pig in order to eat the tiger. (Play dumb.)
o Hide behind the mask of a fool, a drunk, or a madman to
create confusion about your intentions and motivations. Lure your opponent into
underestimating your ability until, overconfident, he drops his guard. Then you
may attack.
· Strategy
28 "上屋抽梯"
– ( Shang Wu Chou Ti) Remove the ladder when the enemy has ascended to the roof
(Cross the river and destroy the bridge.)
o With baits and deceptions lure your enemy into treacherous
terrain. Then cut off his lines of communication and avenue of escape. To save
himself he must fight both your own forces and the elements of nature.
· Strategy
29 "树上开花"
– ( Shu Shang Kai Hua) Deck the tree with false blossoms.
o Tying silk blossoms on a dead tree gives the illusion that
the tree is healthy. Through the use of artifice and disguise make something of
no value appear valuable; of no threat appear dangerous; of no use appear
useful.
· Strategy
30 "反客为主"
– ( Fan Ke Wei Zhu) Make the host and the guest exchange places.
o Defeat the enemy from within by infiltrating the enemy's camp
under the guise of cooperation, surrender, or peace treaties. In this way you
can discover his weakness and then, when the enemy's guard is relaxed, strike
directly at the source of his strength.
Chapter 6 - Defeat Strategies Desperate Straits
· Strategy
31 "美人计"
– ( Mei Ren Ji) The beauty trap. (The tender trap, use a woman to ensnare a
man.)
o Send your enemy beautiful women to cause discord within his
camp. This strategy can work on three levels. First, the ruler becomes so
enamored with the beauty that he neglects his duties and allows his vigilance
to wane. Second, other males at court will begin to display aggressive behavior
that inflames minor differences hindering co-operation and destroying morale.
Third, other females at court, motivated by jealousy and envy, begin to plot
intrigues further exacberating the situation.
· Strategy
32 "空城计"
– (Kong Cheng Ji) Empty fort. (Mental trap, empty a fort to make enemy think it
is filled with traps.)
o When the enemy is superior in numbers and your situation is
such that you expect to be overrun at any moment, then drop all pretence of
military preparedness and act casually. Unless the enemy has an accurate
description of your situation this unusual behavior will arouse suspicions.
With luck he will be dissuaded from attacking.
· Strategy
33 "反间计"
– ( Fan Jian Ji) Let the enemy's spy sow discord in the enemy camp. (Use
enemy's own spy to spread false information.)
o Undermine your enemy's ability to fight by allowing enemy's
spy to remain within your ranks,while you feed false information causing enemy
discord with his friends, allies, advisors, family, commanders, soldiers, and
population. Preoccupied settling internal disputes, your enemy's ability to
attack or defend is compromised and your control of him is increased.
· Strategy
34 "苦肉计"
– (Ku Ruo Ji) Inflict injury on one's self to win the enemy's trust. (Fall
into a trap; become baited.)
o Pretending to be injured has two possible applications. In
the first, the enemy is lulled into relaxing his guard since he no longer
considers you to be an immediate threat. The second is a way of ingratiating
yourself to your enemy by pretending the injury was caused by a mutual enemy.
· Strategy
35 "连环计"
– (Lian Huan Ji) Chain together the enemy's ships. (Never rely on but a single
strategy.)
o In important matters one should use several strategies
applied simultaneously. Keep different plans operating in an overall scheme; in
this manner if any one strategy fails you would still have several others to
fall back on.
· The
36th strategy "走为上"
– (Zuo Wei Shang) Run away to fight another day.
o
If it becomes obvious that your current
course of action will lead to defeat then retreat and regroup. When your side
is losing there are only three choices remaining: surrender, compromise, or
escape. Surrender is complete defeat, compromise is half defeat, but escape is
not defeat. As long as you are not defeated, you still have a chance.
Translation
|
Chinese
|
Interpretation
|
The relationship between a husband
and a wife is like a garment; if a garment is torn, it can be mended. The
relationship between two brothers is like a limb; if a limb is broken, it
cannot be repaired.
|
夫妻如衣服,
兄弟如手足
|
It is much easier for husband and
wife to make up after a quarrel than it is for two brothers.
Some Chinese people also interpret
this phrase to mean
A wife can be changed, like
laundry, but friendship can never be replaced
|
Liu Bei "borrows" Jingzhou –
borrowing without returning.
|
劉備借荊州——有借無還
|
There are people who borrow but
never return what they borrowed, so be wary of them.
|
Speak of 'Cao Cao' and Cao Cao arrives.
|
說曹操，曹操到
or,
說曹操曹操就到
|
equivalent to "speak of the
devil" in English when a person under discussion suddenly appears
|
Three reeking tanners (are enough
to) overcome one Zhuge Liang.
|
三個臭皮匠,
勝過一個諸葛亮
or more colloquially,
三個臭皮匠,
賽過一個諸葛亮
|
When together, three incapable
persons will always overpower one capable person
|
Losing your wife and your army.
|
賠了夫人又折兵
|
In reference to Lady Sun leaving
for Liu Bei. Representing a bad deal in which a person loses on both sides of
the deal.
|
East Wu arranges for a marriage,
turning fake into real
|
東吳招親——弄假成真
|
