Category: Chinese Literature

三十六计Thirty-Six Stratagems: 起源Origin

The name of the collection comes from the Book of Qi, in its seventh biographical volume,Biography of Wáng Jìngzé (王敬则传). 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. As Wáng received news that  Xiāo Bǎojuàn (萧宝卷), son and crown prince of Emperor Ming, had escaped in haste after learning of the rebellion, he commented that  "of the thirty-six stratagems of Lord Tán, retreat was his best, you father and son should run for sure"(檀公三十六策,走为上计,汝父子唯应走耳). Lord Tán here refers to general  Tán Dàojì (檀道济) 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.

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三十六计 Thirty-Six Stratagems: 瞒天过海 Fool the Emperor to Cross the Sea

  This stratagem references an episode in 643 AD, when  Emperor Taizong of Tang (唐太宗 tánɡtàizōnɡ), balked from crossing the sea to a campaign against Koguryo. His general  Xue Rengui (薛仁贵 Xuē Rénɡuì)  thought of a stratagem to get the emperor across and allay his fear of seasickness: on a clear day, the emperor was invited to meet a wise man. They entered through a dark tunnel into a hall wher they feasted. After feasting several days, the Emperor heard the sound of waves and realised that he had been lured onto a ship! General Xue drew aside the curtains to reveal the ocean and confessed that they had already crossed the sea: Upon discovering this, the emperor decided to carry on and later completed the successful campaign.

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三十六计 Thirty-Six Stratagems: 围魏救赵 Besiege Wèi to rescue Zhào

  The origin of this proverb is from the  Warring States Period (战国时期 zhànɡuóshíqī). The state of Wèi attacked Zhao and  laid siege (围攻 wéiɡōnɡ) to its capital  Handan (邯郸 Hándān). 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 atDaliang (大梁 Dàliánɡ). The army of Wèi  retreated (撤回 chèhuí) in haste, and the tired troops were  ambushed (伏击 fújī) and defeated at the  Battle of Guiling (桂陵之战 Guìlínɡzhīzhàn), with the Wèi general  Pang Juan (庞涓 Pánɡ Juān) slain on the field. Note that this campaign is also described explicitly in the Art of War of Master Sun Bin the younger.

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