I ran across this post today on a security/terrorist list.... some may seem cruel or barbaric, but the wisdom behind others might be adopted to modern times ( I'm just reposting the list so I can't guarantee the accuracy) reposted from here. Maybe someone can explain the specific context.
The 36 Classical Stratagems of Ancient China
- Strategy 1 - Deceive the sky to cross the ocean.
- Strategy 2 - Surround Wei to rescue Zhao.
- Strategy 3 - Borrow another's hand to kill. (Kill with a borrowed knife.)
- Strategy 4 - Make your enemy work while you wait at leisure.
- Strategy 5 - Use the opportunity of fire to rob others. (Loot a burning house).
- Strategy 6 - Display in the east and attack in the west.
- Strategy 7 - Create something from nothing.
- Strategy 8 - Secretly utilize the Chen Chang passage. (Pretend to take one path while sneaking down the other. E.g., the Allied invasion of Normandy and the Pas de Calai deception).
- Strategy 9 - Watch the fires burning across the river.
- Strategy 10 - Knife hidden under the smiling face.
- Strategy 11 - Plum tree sacrifices for the peach tree.
- Strategy 12 - Walk the sheep home, just because it is there. (Take the opportunity to pilfer a goat.)
- Strategy 13 - Disturb the snake by hitting the grass.
- Strategy 14 - Borrow another's body to return the soul. (Raise a corpse from the dead).
- Strategy 15 - Entice the tiger to leave the mountain.
- Strategy 16 - In order to capture, one must let loose.
- Strategy 17 - Bait a piece of jade with a brick.
- Strategy 18 - Defeat the enemy by capturing their chief.
- Strategy 19 - Remove the firewood under the cooking pot.
- Strategy 20 - Fish in troubled waters.
- Strategy 21 - Slough off the cicada's shell. (False appearances mislead the enemy).
- Strategy 22 - Shut the door to catch the thief.
- Strategy 23 - Befriend a distant state while attacking a neighbor.
- Strategy 24 - Obtain safe passage to conquer the Kingdom of Guo.
- Strategy 25 - Replace the beams and pillars with rotten timber.
- Strategy 26 - Point at the mulberry and curse the locust.
- Strategy 27 - Pretend to be a pig in order to eat the tiger. (Play dumb.)
- Strategy 28 - Cross the river and destroy the bridge. (today.. destroy your tracks & the memory on the server-electromagnetic pulses-Walter Derzko)
- Strategy 29 - Deck the tree with bogus blossoms.
- Strategy 30 - Make the host and the quest exchange places.
- Strategy 31 - The beauty trap. (The tender trap, use a woman to ensare a man.)
- Strategy 32 - Empty city.
- Strategy 33 - Let the enemy's own spy sow discord in the enemy camp. (Use double agents.)
- Strategy 34 - Inflict injury on one's self to win the enemy's trust.
- Strategy 35 - Chain together the enemy's ships.
- Strategy 36 - Run away to fight another day. (Escape is the best policy.)
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