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Secret Art of War
PageType: Path   Difficulty: Advanced   Keywords: Proverb, Tactics, Strategy

The 36 Stratagems

Torwards the end of the Ming Dynasty (some 300 years ago) 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" are a military classic of ancient China and has its emphasis on deception as military art. Here we discuss how those stratagems might apply to Go. 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 superiour position

Stratagems for confrontation

Stratagems for attack

Stratagems for confused situations

  • Take away the fire from under the cauldron?
  • Fish in troubled waters?
  • The cicada sheds its skin?
  • Bolt the door to catch the thief?
  • Befriend a distant state while attacking a neighbour?
  • Borrow a route to conquer Guo?

Stratagems for gaining ground

Stratagems for desperate situations


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

You can find it here: [ext] 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.



This is a copy of the living page "Secret Art of War" at Sensei's Library.
(C) the Authors, published under the OpenContent License V1.0.