Secret Art of War

The 36 Stratagems (三十六计)

Some 300 years ago, towards the end of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) an unknown writer published "Secret Art of War: The 36 Stratagems" writing down for the first time war stratagems which first appeared in the official history of Southern Qi about 1500 years ago.

"The 36 Stratagems" is a military classic of ancient China and has its emphasis on deception as military art. Here we discuss how those stratagems might apply to WeiQi.

You may, however, prefer to read how Ma Xiaochun 9-dan applies them in his book The Thirty-six Stratagems Applied to Go.

Stratagems when in a superior position (胜战计)

• Cross the sea under camouflage (瞒天过海)
• Besiege Wei to rescue Zhao (围魏救赵)
• Kill with a borrowed knife (借刀杀人)
• Wait at ease for the fatigued enemy (以逸待劳)
• Loot a burning house (趁火打劫)
• Make a feint to the east while attacking in the west (声东击西)

Stratagems for confrontation (敌战计)

• Create something out of nothing (无中生有)
• Advance to Chencang by a hidden path (暗渡陈仓)
• Watch the fire burning across the river (隔岸观火)
• Conceal a dagger in a smile (笑里藏刀)
• Sacrifice plums for peaches (李代桃僵)
• Lead away a goat in passing (顺手牵羊)

Stratagems for attack (攻战计)

• Beat the grass to startle the snake (打草惊蛇)
• Raise a corpse from the dead (借尸还魂)
• Lure the tiger out of the mountain (调虎离山)
• Let the enemy off in order to snare him (欲擒故纵)
• Cast a brick to attract a gem (抛砖引玉)
• To catch rebels nab their leader first (擒贼擒王)

Stratagems for confused situations (混战计)

• Take away the fire from under the cauldron (釜底抽薪)
• Fish in troubled waters (混水摸鱼)
• The cicada sheds its skin (金蝉脱壳)
• Bolt the door to catch the thief (关门捉贼)
• Befriend a distant state while attacking a neighbour (远交近攻)
• Borrow a route to conquer Guo (假途伐虢)

Stratagems for gaining ground (并战计)

• Replace the beams and pillars with rotten timber (偷梁换柱)
• Point at the mulberry only to curse the locust (指桑骂槐)
• Feigning foolishness (假痴不颠)
• Remove the ladder after the ascent (上屋抽梯)
• Putting fake blossoms on the tree (树上开花)
• Host and guest reversed (反客为主)

Stratagems for desperate situations (败战计)

• Beauty trap (美人计)
• Empty city ploy (空城计)
• Sow discord in the enemy's camp (反间计)
• Inflict injury on oneself to win the enemy's trust (苦肉计)
• Interlocking stratagems (连环计)
• When retreat is the best option (走为上计)

Links

There are many possible links to other pages on the 36 stratagems. For example these:

• dead link: http://www.pipeline.com/~tkd-pix/36_strat.htm
• http://www.anderson.ucla.edu:7777/research/globalwindow/china/t6/b636.htm
• dead link: http://www.warrior-scholar.com/Warrior-Scholar/Warrior-Scholar/Fun/library/36%20stratagems.html
• http://www.chinapage.com/36tact1.html
• dead link: http://www.shadownet.freeserve.co.uk/thirtysix.html
• http://www.china-zeichen.de/html/36_strategeme.html
• http://changingminds.org/disciplines/warfare/36_strategems/36_stratagems.htm
• http://wengu.tartarie.com/wg/wengu.php?l=36ji&no=0

I picked up a book years ago, Lure the Tiger Out of the Mountains by Gao Yuan. Business focus, not WeiQi, but an excellent book with history of each strategy.

You can find it here: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0671758551/qid=1027299206/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/104-8802456-1509520 ($8 when I wrote this!)

See also The Protracted Game and The Go'ing Insurrection