36 Stratagems
The Thirty-Six Stratagems (traditional Chinese: 三十六計; simplified Chinese: 三十六计; pinyin: Sānshíliù Jì) was originally a Chinese essay used to illustrate a series of stratagems used in politics, war, as well as in civil interaction, often through unorthodox or deceptive means. They were first published in the western world by Harro von Senger from Switzerland after he heard the Chinese proverb "If all else fails, retreat" at Taipei University.
The Stratagems are often misnamed as strategies; however, stratagem (synonymous with ruse) has nothing to do with strategy (being a long-term plan or outline).
"Stratagem" is a rather ancient word for a ruse. Harro von Senger used the word "stratagem" in his translation of the 36 stratagems to differentiate them from the negative connotation of "ruse".
In the German "Duden" dictionary, "List" (ruse) is defined as
a means of reaching a goal unorthodoxically by deceiving somebody
a means of reaching a goal unorthodoxically.
As "ruse" is normally associated with deception, damage and harm, Senger used "stratagem" as a more neutral word to clarify that the second meaning, to reach a goal unorthodoxically, mostly by masquerading the intent and doing the unexpected, is meant.
Senger notes that as ruses were mostly condemned as "the last means of the incapable when all other has failed" (Clausewitz) and un-Christian, there is no culture of applying and discovering stratagems in the west. This leads to:
ruses that are applied normally are executed dilettantish and badly planned,
ruses applied by the more stratagem-competent far-eastern world are not discovered and countered,
while the expertise of stratagems allows somebody to plan and evaluate his ruses ethically, western ruses normally are applied un-planned and ruthlessly,
in communication with Far-Eastern instances, it frequently leads to misunderstandings as westerners do not have stratagem expertise, while all they communicate is analyzed stratagemically. Senger explains that this was particularly true for the frequent references to human rights by western politicians. Senger brings examples how Chinese politicians wittily win battles of words when confronted directly, and explains that many Chinese come to the conclusion that the west itself uses the subject as a ruse to weaken the evolving China as a future economic and global power and stage it mainly as a show for their own voters.
Senger cites a Chinese newspaper article discussing whether stratagem expertise should be imparted in children's education, that comes to the conclusion that this was not a question of "if", but of "how". ("Die Kunst der List", 2001).
He states that there are two modes of stratagem usage:
Active - to apply stratagems to reach one's own goals
Passive - to analyze actions and statements of others with regard to stratagem usage.
This view, however, is not completely valid. For example, the surviving Roman and Byzantine manuals list several stratagems, many found in the list below, and political thinkers, such as Niccolò Machiavelli see ruses as perfectly good means of politics and warfare. Clausewitz actually encourages the use of stratagems when at disadvantaged position; he doesn't advocate them as silver bullets since they usually are more likely to fail than succeed and attempting them may divert resources off where they are needed (as happened with the Japanese in the Battle of Midway). Many of the stratagems listed in the 36 strategies have been carried out successfully in the West just as well.
Ethics and stratagems are one of his major subjects; while he states that the use of ruses was not despised by Christian teachings (he cites Matthew 10,16: I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. (NIV)), he divides stratagem usage into four categories:
Stratagem usage to inflict damage
Stratagem usage to serve a goal
Stratagem usage to make a prank
Ethically ambivalent stratagem usage.
Although the ability to use stratagems competently was important, stratagem expertise was necessary to discover stratagems used by others to damage oneself.
Senger divides stratagems into six categories:
Simulation or Masking: 1, 3, 6, 8, 10, 24, 25,
Dissimulation or Feint: 7, 27, 29, 32, 34
Information or Disclosure: 13, 26,
Exploiting, taking Advantage: 2, 4, 5, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 22, 23, 28, 30, 31, 33
Linking more than one stratagem: 35
Flight Stratagems: 9, 11, 21, 36
Cungen GE, a Chinese researcher of 36 Stratagems from the perspective of modern business competition, supports the ready-made six groups of classification of these stratagems in the book of Thirty-six Stratagems (The Secret of War):
The Stratagems of Winning;
The Stratagems of Defending;
The Stratagems of Attacking;
The Stratagems of Scuffling;
The Stratagems of Merging;
The Stratagems of Losing.
The name of the collection comes from the Book of Qi, in its seventh biographical volume, Biography of Wáng Jìngzé (王敬則傳).[1] Wáng was a general who had served Southern Qi since the first Emperor Gao of the dynasty. When Emperor Ming came to power and executed many members of the court and royal family for fear that they would threaten his reign, Wáng believed that he would be targeted next and rebelled. When Wáng received news that Xiao Baojuan, son and crown prince of Emperor Ming, had escaped in haste after learning of the rebellion, he commented that "檀公三十六策，走是上計，汝父子唯應急走耳", which can be translated literally as "of the thirty-six stratagems of Lord Tán, retreat was his best, you father and son should run for sure". Lord Tán here refers to general Tan Daoji of the Liu Song Dynasty, who was forced to retreat after his failed attack on Northern Wei, and Wáng mentioned his name in contempt as an example of cowardice.[2]
It should be noted that the number thirty-six was used by Wáng as a figure of speech in this context, and is meant to denote numerous stratagems instead of any specific number. Wáng's choice of this term was in reference to the I Ching, where six is the number of Yin that shared many characteristics with the dark schemes involved in military strategy. As thirty-six is the square of six, it therefore acted as a metaphor for numerous strategies.[2] Since Wáng was not referring to any thirty-six specific stratagems however, the thirty-six proverbs and their connection to military strategies and tactics are likely to have been created after the fact, with the collection only borrowing its name from Wáng's saying.[3]
The Thirty-Six Stratagems have variably been attributed to Sun Tzu from the Spring and Autumn Period of China, or Zhuge Liang of the Three Kingdoms period, but neither are regarded as the true author by historians. Instead, the prevailing view is that the Thirty-Six Stratagems may have originated in both written and oral history, with many different versions compiled by different authors throughout Chinese history. Some stratagems reference occurrences in the time of Sun Bin, approx. 150 years after Sun Wu's death.[3]
The original hand-copied paperback that is the basis of the current version was believed to have been discovered in China's Shaanxi province, of an unknown date and author, and put into print by a local publisher in 1941. The Thirty-Six Stratagems only came to the public's attention after a review of it was published in the Chinese Communist Party's Guangming Daily (光明日报) newspaper on September 16, 1961. It was subsequently reprinted and distributed with growing popularity.[3]
The Thirty-Six Stratagems are divided into a preface, six chapters containing six stratagems each, and an afterword that was incomplete with missing text. The first three chapters generally describe tactics for use in advantageous situations, whereas the last three chapters contain stratagems that are more suitable for disadvantageous situations. The original text of the Thirty-Six Stratagems has a laconic style that is common to Classical Chinese. Each proverb is accompanied by a short comment, no longer than a sentence or two, that explains how said proverb is applicable to military tactics. These 36 Chinese proverbs are related to 36 battle scenarios in Chinese history and folklore, predominantly of the Warring States Period and the Three Kingdoms Period.
"六六三十六，數中有術，術中有數。陰陽變理，機在其中。機不可設，設則不中。"
Deceive the heavens to cross the ocean (traditional Chinese: 瞞天過海; simplified Chinese: 瞒天过海; pinyin: Mán tiān guò hǎi)
The stratagem references an episode when Tang emperor Tang Gaozong balked from crossing the sea to a campaign against Koguryo. His General brought him the invitation of a wealthy peasant to supper. As the emperor entered this house, it began to shake - the General had deceivedly lured the emperor onto a ship! Upon discovering this, the emperor decided to carry on and later finished the successful campaign.
This stratagem means that you mask your real goals, thus deceiving even the emperor / heavens itself with a fake goal, until they are confronted with finished facts. Harro von Senger notes in the German-Language "Die List" that to grasp the full meaning, it would be something like "to deceive the holy virgin Mary" in the western hemisphere.
Usage
This strategy made use of the human weakness that, people eventually become unaware of common everyday activities, or events that keeps repeating itself. When this happens, it is the best moment carry out one's previously hidden true objective.
In the Second World War, Hitler spread misinformation about a planned date for the Invasion of France, but later delayed the date. This was repeated many times, and eventually France and England grew used to the false information, and regarded all Germany planned invasions as hoaxes. Then one day, Germany invaded France with lightning speed, conquering France.
In the Second World War, the Allies' Operation Quicksilver created a phantom army in Kent complete with fake radio chatter that diverted German attentions from real Allied armies and their intended objective of Normandy.
Besiege Wèi to rescue Zhào (traditional Chinese: 圍魏救趙; simplified Chinese: 围魏救赵; pinyin: Wéi Wèi jiù Zhào)
When the enemy is too strong to be attacked directly, then attack something he holds dear. Know that he cannot be superior in all things. Somewhere there is a gap in the armour, a weakness that can be attacked instead.
The origins of this proverb is from the Warring States Period. The state of Wèi attacked Zhao and laid siege to its capital Handan. Zhào turned to Qí for help, but the Qí general Sun Bin determined it would be unwise to meet the army of Wèi head on, so he instead attacked their capital at Daliang. The army of Wèi retreated in haste, and the tired troops were ambushed and defeated at the Battle of Guiling, with the Wèi general Pang Juan slain on the field. Note that this campaign is also described explicitly in the Art of War of Master Sun Bin the younger.
Usage
The idea here is to avoid a head on battle with a strong enemy, and instead strike at his weakness elsewhere. This will force the strong enemy to retreat in order to support his weakness. Battling against the now tired and low-morale enemy will give a much higher chance of success.
In the Second Punic War at the Battle of Zama Scipio Africanus was able to defeat Hannibal's army in Italy not by facing him in the field but by destroying his power base in Spain and menacing his home city of Carthage
Kill with a borrowed knife (traditional Chinese: 借刀殺人; simplified Chinese: 借刀杀人; pinyin: Jiè dāo shā rén)
Attack using the strength of another (in a situation where using one's own strength is not favourable). Trick an ally into attacking him, bribe an official to turn traitor, or use the enemy's own strength against him.
Usage
The idea here is to cause damage to the enemy, by getting a 3rd party to do the deed.
During the Three Kingdoms era, Guan Yu, one of the head generals of the Kingdom of Shu, was engaged in the Battle of Fancheng against Cao Cao. Cao Cao sent an advisor to Sun Quan to encourage him to attack and capture Jing Province. Cao Cao promised that all lands south of Yangtze River will be Sun Quan's after this act. Several weeks thereafter, the Kingdom of Wu (Sun Quan), which had secretly allied itself with the Kingdom Wei (Cao Cao), attacked Guan Yu's army at Jiangling. Sun Quan, a previous ally of the Kingdom of Shu, surprised and defeated the Shu forces there, forcing Guan Yu to lift the siege on Fancheng and retreat. During his retreat, Guan Yu was captured by Sun Quan's forces and was executed. This caused great hatred between Liu Bei and Sun Quan, and eventually the hatred led to many battles between the two states. Although Cao Cao did not live to see it, these conflicts eventually allowed the Kingdom of Wei (Cao Cao) to conquer the Kingdom of Shu Liu Bei and the Kingdom of Wu Sun Quan, allowing the Kingdom of Wei (Cao Cao) to conquer China and unify it under the rule of the Kingdom of Wei (Cao Cao).
In 1936, Stalin began to second guess his most trusted advisors and generals. Hitler made a list of the most dangerous generals within Russia, and created an underground report regarding them selling Russian information to Germany. Many false mails between them were also made. Russian spies got hold of this detailed list of the Russian generals and the mails they had allegedly sent to Germany. 8 generals were immediately imprisoned. After a 30 minute trial, all of the generals were judged guilty of treason, and all were executed within 12 hours. When Germany and Russia engaged in combat later on, Russia had to fight without some of its best generals.
Substitute leisure for labour (traditional Chinese: 以逸待勞; simplified Chinese: 以逸待劳; pinyin: Yǐ yì dài láo)
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.
Usage
The idea is to have your troops well-prepared for battle, in the same time that the enemy is rushing to fight against you. This will give your troops a huge advantage in the upcoming battle, of which you will get to select the time and place.
In the Battle of Maling, Wei had both the number and morale advantage over the Qi troops. Sun Bin ordered his Qi troops to retreat, while encouraging the Wei troops to pursue them with haste. The end result was that the Qi forces were well prepared and well located for an ambush, while the Wei forces were tired from the speedy march. The battle was really one sided due to this difference.
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.
Usage
Keep gathering internal information about an enemy. If the enemy is currently in its weakest state ever, attack it without mercy and totally destroy it to prevent future troubles.
Before the Battle of Gaixia, both Chu and Han forces were tired from a long lasting siege. After a peace treaty, the tired Chu troops began retreating out of Han territory. Han Xin and Zhang Liang both advised to Liu Bang :"We already control half of the empire. Even within Chu, many governors favour us being the ruler, and will not give Xiang Yu support unless forced to. The Chu troops are currently tired and face serious food stortages. The heavens have decided to end Xiang Yu 's power. If we let Xiang Yu escape, it will be like keeping a tiger alive only to kill its owner later. We must strike now and end this threat." After some thinking, Liu Bang gave the order to attack Xiang Yu, and eventually ended Chu.
Make a sound in the east, then strike in the west (traditional Chinese: 聲東擊西; simplified Chinese: 声东击西; pinyin: Shēng dōng jí xī)
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.
Usage
The idea here is to get the enemy to focus his forces in a location, and then attack elsewhere which would be weakly defended.
In 1798, Napoleon Bonaparte had planned an invasion of Egypt, but in order for his ground troops to be transported into Egypt, he would have to get through the powerful British Navy. Napoleon decided to avoid a direct confrontation during the transportation, since a defeat here would cost many lives. Napoleon informed his Mediterranean fleet that they were to join up with the fleet in the north, and attack Ireland. As a result of this news, Horatio Nelson stationed his fleet in the west of the Mediterranean, in order to block the French fleet from moving up north. Napoleon then quickly ordered his Mediterranean fleet to transport ground troops into Egypt. By the time Horatio discovered Napoleon's plans, about three weeks had passed and a large French army had gathered in Egypt. Although the French Mediterranean fleet was eventually destroyed in the Battle of the Nile, Napoleon was able to conquer Egypt with his ground troops.
In the 1991 Gulf War the coalition through Military deception was able to convince the Iraqis that the coalition intended an amphibious attack into Kuwait and was able to fix Iraqi forces in positions that could play no effective part when the real attack came.
Create something from nothing (traditional Chinese: 無中生有; simplified Chinese: 无中生有; pinyin: Wú zhōng shēng yǒu)
A plain lie. Make somebody believe there was something when there is in fact nothing.
Usage
One method of using this strategy is to create an illusion of something's existence, while it does not exist. Another method is to create an illusion that something does not exist, while it does.
During the Battle of Fei River, Former Qin had an overwhelming manpower over Jin. But instead of backing down to defend, Jin attacked Former Qin forces early and formed wide formations, giving an illusion that Jin had the manpower to match Former Qin's forces. Fu Jiān began planning his moves in fear, and later on ordered his vast forces to back out from the river banks. The low morale Former Qin troops went into chaos, and Jin came out of the battle victorious.
During the Battles of Yongqiu and Suiyang, the Tang soldiers in Yongqiu were running out of arrows. Zhang Xun ordered about 1,000 scarecrows to be made. At night, soldiers put their own armor onto the scarecrows, and hung them down from the Castle walls. Yan forces saw this and shot many arrows at the scarecrows, since they thought they were Tang soldiers. By the time the Yan forces found out what happened, the Tang troops had already received about 200,000 arrows. When this happened again later, Yan soldiers did not shoot one single arrow at them. But these dark figures were real Tang soldiers, who quickly attacked the sleeping Yan ranks. The vast Yan forces were forced to retreat from their position.
In advance fee frauds, victims are lured by making them believe there was a large amount of money waiting for them ("Something") while there is in fact "Nothing".
Openly repair the gallery roads, but sneak through the passage of Chencang (traditional Chinese: 暗渡陳倉; simplified Chinese: 暗渡陈仓; pinyin: Àn dù chén cāng)
Deceive the enemy with an obvious approach that will take a very long time, while surprising him by taking a shortcut and sneak up to him. As the enemy concentrates on the decoy, he will miss you sneaking up to him.
The phrase originated from the Chu-Han contention, where Liu Bang retreated to the lands of Sichuan to prepare for a confrontation with Xiang Yu. Once he was fully prepared, Liu Bang sent men to openly repair the gallery roads he had destroyed earlier, while secretly moving his troops towards Guanzhong through the small town of Chencang instead. When Xiang Yu received news of Liu Bang repairing the gallery roads, he dismissed the threat since he knew the repairs would take years to complete. This allowed Liu Bang to retake Guanzhong by surprise, and eventually led to his victory over Xiang Yu and the birth of the Han Dynasty.
Usage
This tactic is an extension of the "Make a sound in the east, then strike in the west" tactic. But instead of simply spreading misinformation to draw the enemy's attention, physical baits are used to increase the enemy's certainty on the misinformation. These baits must be easily seen by the enemy, to ensure that they draw the enemy's attention. At the same time, the baits must act as if what they meant to do what they were falsely doing, to avoid drawing the enemy's suspicion.
In 263 during the Three Kingdoms era, Deng Ai was facing off against Jiang Wei in one of the many battles between the two. Jiang Wei's goal was to take one of the Wei fortresses. Deng Ai engaged Jiang Wei's forces and was able to win a few early battles, and Jiang Wei retreated for a short distance before making camp. Deng Ai order his troops to set up defences along a river, since the nearby Jiang Wei forces would certainly return. After 3 days, Jiang Wei's forces did indeed return. But they simply camped and did not prepare to cross the river. Deng Ai sensed that Jiang Wei's main forces had gone around the river to take the fortress directly, so he ordered all forces to retreat back to the fortress to defend. Everything was just as Deng Ai had predicted, and due to his prior preparations, Jiang Wei's siege at the fortress ended in a failure. Jiang Wei had used the tactic wrongly, because his forces at the river did not draw enough enemy attention to cause them to stay at the river.
Prior to the Battle of Normandy, the Allies wanted to draw the Axis attention away from Normandy. An entirely fictitious First U.S. Army Group ("FUSAG"), was created for this purpose. Dummy tanks, trucks, planes and camps were made. They were placed in an area which led Germany to believe that the actual large scale invasion would take place in Pas de Calais. The air defense in this area was at a minimum, to allow Luftwaffe to photograph them easily. Allied naval bombardment was focused on Pas de Calais instead of Normandy. Dummy paratroopers were also used to create further uncertainty on the Germany side regarding the actual location of the invasion. This led the German defense forces into disorder, and allowed the Normandy operation to be carried out with "relative" ease.
Watch the fires burning across the river (traditional Chinese: 隔岸觀火; simplified Chinese: 隔岸观火; pinyin: Gé àn guān huǒ)
Delay entering the field of battle until all the other players have become exhausted fighting amongst themselves. Then go in at full strength and pick up the pieces.
Hide a knife behind a smile (traditional Chinese: 笑裏藏刀; simplified Chinese: 笑里藏刀; pinyin: Xiào lǐ cáng dāo)
Charm and ingratiate yourself to your enemy. When you have gained his trust, move against him in secret.
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.
Cao Cao of the Three Kingdoms Period demonstrated this strategy. During a siege, Cao's supplies ran low so he called in the supply captain and told him to dilute the rice with water to save grains. When the soldiers started to complain, Cao ordered for the captain to be killed. He would explain to his troops that the captain had been selling supplies to the enemy. This raised the army's morale and they were victorious in a few more days.
Take the opportunity to pilfer a goat (traditional Chinese: 順手牽羊; simplified Chinese: 顺手牵羊; pinyin: Shùn shǒu qiān yáng)
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.
Startle the snake by hitting the grass around it (traditional Chinese: 打草驚蛇; simplified Chinese: 打草惊蛇; pinyin: Dá cǎo jīng shé)
Do something unaimed, but spectacular ("hitting the grass") to provoke a response of the enemy ("startle the snake"), thereby giving away his plans or position, or just taunt him. Do something unusual, strange, and unexpected as this will arouse the enemy's suspicion and disrupt his thinking. More widely used as "[Do not] startle the snake by hitting the grass". An imprudent act will give your position or intentions away to the enemy.
Borrow a corpse to resurrect the soul (traditional Chinese: 借屍還魂; simplified Chinese: 借尸还魂; pinyin: Jiè shī huán hún)
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 bring to life old ideas, customs, or traditions and reinterpret them to fit your purposes.
The Olympic Games, rather than being used to foster brotherhood among Greeks, now is used to foster amity between nations.
At the end of the Medieval period when nation-states would field conscripted armies armed with firearms, personal body armour fell out of fashion for field infantry. The 1800s saw the early development of the ballistic vest but it did not become standard issue for modern armies until the 1990s.
Entice the tiger to leave its mountain lair (traditional Chinese: 調虎離山; simplified Chinese: 调虎离山; pinyin: Diào hǔ lí shān)
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.
At the Battle of Hastings the Normans were initially unable to break the Saxon shield wall placed at the top of a hill, however by feigning retreat they were able to entice some of the Saxons to break ranks and opened a gap that allowed them to scatter the Saxon army.
In order to capture, one must let loose (traditional Chinese: 欲擒故縱; simplified Chinese: 欲擒故纵; pinyin: Yù qín gū zòng)
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.
Tossing out a brick to get a jade gem (traditional Chinese: 拋磚引玉; simplified Chinese: 抛砖引玉; pinyin: Pāo zhuān yǐn yù)
Bait someone by making him believe he gains something or just make him react to it ("toss out a brick") and obtain something valuable from him in return ("get a jade gem").
This proverb is based on a story involving two famous poets of the Tang Dynasty. There was a great poet named Zhao Gu (趙嘏) and another lesser poet by the name of Chang Jian (常建). While Chang Jian was traveling in Suzhou, he heard news that Zhao Gu would be visiting a temple in the area. Chang Jian wished to learn from the master poet, so he devised a plan and went to the temple in advance, then wrote a poem on the temple walls with only two of the four lines completed, hoping Zhao Gu would see it and finish the poem. Zhao Gu acted as Chang Jian foresaw, and from this story came the proverb.
Advance fee fraud targets this belief in the victims: They are made believe they will make sizable gains ("get a jade gem"), but first must make down payments ("toss a brick"). As the initiators did "Create something from Nothing" (strategem no. 7), the victims lose their payments.
Defeat the enemy by capturing their chief (traditional Chinese: 擒賊擒王; simplified Chinese: 擒贼擒王; pinyin: Qín zéi qín wáng)
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.
Remove the firewood under the cooking pot (Chinese: 釜底抽薪; pinyin: Fǔ dǐ chōu xīn)
Take out the leading argument or asset of someone; "steal someone's thunder".
Catch a fish while the water is disturbed (traditional Chinese: 混水摸魚; simplified Chinese: 混水摸鱼; pinyin: Hún shuǐ mō yú)
Create confusion and use this confusion to further your own goals.
Slough off the cicada's golden shell (traditional Chinese: 金蟬脱殼; simplified Chinese: 金蝉脱壳; pinyin: Jīn chán tuō qiào)
Mask yourself. Either leave flamboyant traits behind, thus going incognito; or just masquerade yourself and create an illusion to fit your goals and distract others.
With the Battle of Gallipoli evacuation the British and Anzac forces were able to retreat without being routed by creating the illusion that their trenches remained occupied.
In the Biblical story of the judge, Gideon in the Book of Judges, the smaller Israelite army, led by Gideon, was able to defeat the larger Midianite army by first carrying torches and trumphets, thus appearing as the torch bearers of a much larger force that had surrounded the Midianite encampment.
Shut the door to catch the thief (traditional Chinese: 關門捉賊; simplified Chinese: 关门捉贼; pinyin: Guān mén zhōu zéi)
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.
Befriend a distant state while attacking a neighbour (traditional Chinese: 遠交近攻; simplified Chinese: 远交近攻; pinyin: Yuǎn jiāo jìn gōng)
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.
Otto von Bismarck made the League of the Three Emperors and treaties with the British Empire and Italy in order to isolate France, from which he feared an attack.
Obtain safe passage to conquer the State of Guo (Chinese: 假道伐虢; pinyin: Jiǎ dào fá Guó)
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.
The Peninsular War started when Napoleon attempted to conquer Spain by stealth, under the guise of friendship and forming an alliance against Britain and Portugal.
Replace the beams with rotten timbers (traditional Chinese: 偷梁換柱; simplified Chinese: 偷梁换柱; pinyin: Tōu liáng huàn zhù)
Disrupt the enemy's formations, interfere with their methods of operations, change the rules in which they are used to follow, 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.
Point at the mulberry tree while cursing the locust tree (traditional Chinese: 指桑罵槐; simplified Chinese: 指桑骂槐; pinyin: Zhǐ sāng mà huái)
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.
Feign madness but keep your balance (traditional Chinese: 假痴不癲; simplified Chinese: 假痴不癫; pinyin: Jiǎ chī bù diān)
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.
Lucius Junius Brutus feigned idiocy for many years while he secretly prepared to depose Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, the last King of Rome.
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.
The Grande Armee was destroyed in the 1812 invasion of Russia by a combination of the Russian winter, a scorched earth strategy, and the Russian army. Napoleon had been spurred on by the prize of capturing Moscow and with it the defeat of Russia; however, all he found was a burnt out and empty city and his forces cut off in hostile terrain and weather with no supplies.
Deck the tree with false blossoms (traditional Chinese: 樹上開花; simplified Chinese: 树上开花; pinyin: Shù shàng kāi huā)
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. This is the same stratagem as Potemkin villages.
Make the host and the guest exchange roles (traditional Chinese: 反客為主; simplified Chinese: 反客为主; pinyin: Fǎn kè wéi zhǔ)
Usurp leadership in a situation where you are normally subordinate. Infiltrate your target.
The beauty trap (honey trap) (traditional Chinese: 美人計; simplified Chinese: 美人计; pinyin: Měi rén jì)
Send your enemy beautiful women to cause discord within his camp. This strategy can work on three levels. First, the ruler becomes so enamoured with the beauty that he neglects his duties and allows his vigilance to wane. Second, other males at court will begin to display aggressive behaviour 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 exacerbating the situation.
Even though this has been done many times, perhaps the most famous historical example is Xi Shi who was sent to the State of Wu during the Spring and Autumn Period.
The empty fort strategy (traditional Chinese: 空城計; simplified Chinese: 空城计; pinyin: Kōng chéng jì)
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 behaviour will arouse suspicions. With luck, he will be dissuaded from attacking.
Let the enemy's own spy sow discord in the enemy camp (traditional Chinese: 反間計; simplified Chinese: 反间计; pinyin: Fǎn jiàn jì)
Undermine your enemy's ability to fight by secretly causing discord between him and his friends, allies, advisors, family, commanders, soldiers, and population. While he is preoccupied settling internal disputes, his ability to attack or defend, is compromised.
During the Second World War the German intelligence agency the Abwehr under Wilhelm Canaris actively colluded with the Allies to undermine the Nazi regime.
Inflict injury on one's self to win the enemy's trust (traditional Chinese: 苦肉計; simplified Chinese: 苦肉计; pinyin: Kǔ ròu jì)
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.
This strategy was perhaps best demonstrated during the Spring and Autumn Period. After his defeat by King Fuchai of Wu, King Goujian of Yue pretended to go to Wu to become a servant of Fuchai. After gaining Fuchai's trust, Guo Jian was allow back to Yue. There he strengthened his military and in 482 BC while Fuchai was trying to gain hegemony, he attacked and conquered the capital. Some years later in 478 BC, he annexed Wu and forced Fuchai to commit suicide.
Chain stratagems (traditional Chinese: 連環計; simplified Chinese: 连环计; pinyin: Lián huán jì)
In important matters, one should use several stratagems applied simultaneously after another as in a chain of stratagems. Keep different plans operating in an overall scheme; however, in this manner if any one strategy fails, then the chain breaks and the whole scheme fails.
If everything else fails, retreat (traditional Chinese: 走為上; simplified Chinese: 走为上; pinyin: Zǒu wéi shàng)
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.
This is the most famous one of the 36th strategy, immortalized in the form of a Chinese idiom: "Of the Thirty-Six Stratagems, fleeing is best." (三十六計，走為上策 - sānshí liù jì, zǒu wèi shàng cè)