The 36 Stratagems

Chapter 1: Winning Stratagems 

1-Deceive the heavens to cross the sea 

(瞞天過海, Mán tiān guò hǎi)

Meaning-

Mask one's real goals from those in authority who lack vision by not alerting them to one's movements or any part of one's plan.

2-Besiege Wèi to rescue Zhào 

(圍魏救趙, Wéi Wèi jiù Zhào)

Meaning-

Further information: Battle of Guiling

When the enemy is too strong to be attacked directly, attack something they cherish. The idea is to avoid a head-on battle with a strong enemy, and instead strike at their weakness elsewhere. This will force the strong enemy to retreat in order to support their weakness. Battling against a tired and dispirited enemy will give a much higher chance of success.

3-Kill with a borrowed knife 

(借刀殺人, Jiè dāo shā rén)

Meaning-

Attack using the strength of another when in a situation where using one's own strength is not favourable. For example, trick an ally into attacking them or use the enemy's own strength against them. The idea is to cause damage to the enemy via a third party.

4-Wait at leisure while the enemy labors 

(以逸待勞, Yǐ yì dài láo)

Meaning-

It is advantageous to choose the time and place for battle while the enemy does not. Encourage the enemy to expend their energy in futile quests while one conserves their strength. When the enemy is exhausted and confused, attack with energy and purpose.

5-Loot a burning house 

(趁火打劫, Chèn huǒ dǎ jié)

Meaning-

When a country is beset by internal problems, such as disease, famine, corruption, and crime, it is poorly-equipped to deal with an outside threat. Keep gathering internal information about an enemy. If the enemy is in its weakest state, attack them without mercy and annihilate them to prevent future troubles.

6-Make a sound in the east, then strike in the west 

(聲東擊西, Shēng dōng jī xī)

Meaning-

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 they least expect it. Create an expectation in the enemy's mind through the use of a feint. Manipulate the enemy to focus their resources somewhere before attacking elsewhere that is poorly defended. Tactically, this is known as an "open feint".

Chapter 2: Enemy Dealing Stratagems (敵戰計, Dí zhàn jì)

7-Create something from nothing 

(無中生有, Wú zhōng shēng yǒu)

Meaning-

A plain lie. Make somebody believe there was something when there is in fact nothing or vice versa.

8-Openly repair the gallery roads, but sneak through the passage of Chencang 

(明修棧道，暗渡陳倉, Míng xiū zhàn dào, àn dù Chéncāng)

Meaning-

Deceive the enemy with an obvious approach that will take a very long time, while ambushing them with another approach. It is an extension of the "Make a sound in the east, then strike in the west" tactic, but instead of merely spreading misinformation to draw the enemy's attention, physical decoys are used to further misdirect the enemy. The decoys must be easily seen by the enemy to draw their attention while acting as if they are meant to do what they are falsely doing to avoid suspicion.

Today, "sneaking through the passage of Chencang" also has the meaning of having an affair or doing something that is illegal.[6]

9-Watch the fires burning across the river 

(隔岸觀火, Gé àn guān huǒ)

Meaning-

Delay entering the field of battle until all other parties become exhausted by fighting amongst each other. Go in at full strength and finish them off.

10-Hide a knife behind a smile 

(笑裏藏刀, Xiào lǐ cáng dāo)

Meaning-

Charm and ingratiate oneself with the enemy. When their trust is gained, move against them in secret.

11-Sacrifice the plum tree to preserve the peach tree 

(李代桃僵, Lǐ dài táo jiāng)

Meaning-

There are circumstances where short-term objectives must be sacrificed in order to gain the long-term goal. This is the scapegoat strategy where someone suffers the consequences so that the rest do not.

12-Take the opportunity to pilfer a goat (順手牽羊, Shùn shǒu qiān yáng)

Meaning-

While carrying out one's plans, be flexible enough to take advantage of any opportunity that presents itself, however small, and avail oneself of any profit, however slight.

Chapter 3: Offensive Stratagems 

(攻戰計, Gōng zhàn jì)

13-Stomp the grass to scare the snake (打草驚蛇, Dǎ cǎo jīng shé)

Meaning-

Do something unaimed, but spectacular ("hitting the grass") to provoke a response from the enemy ("startle the snake") to have them give away their plans or position. Do something unusual, strange, and unexpected to arouse the enemy's suspicion and disrupt their thinking. It is more widely used as a warning: "[Do not] startle the snake by hitting the grass". An imprudent act will give one's position or intentions away to the enemy.

14-Borrow a corpse to resurrect the soul 

(借屍還魂, Jiè shī huán hún)

Meaning-

Take an institution, a technology, a method, or even an ideology that has been forgotten or discarded and appropriate it for one's own purposes.

15-Lure the tiger down the mountain (調虎離山, Diào hǔ lí shān)

Meaning-

Never directly attack an opponent whose advantage is derived from their position. Instead, lure them away from their position to separate them from their source of strength.

16-In order to capture, one must let loose 

(欲擒故縱, Yù qín gù zòng)

Meaning-

Cornered prey will often mount a final desperate attack. To prevent this, let the enemy believe they still have a chance for freedom. Their will to fight is hampered by their desire to escape. The enemy's morale will be depleted and they will surrender without a fight when the illusion of escape is revealed

17-Tossing out a brick to lure a jade gem 

(拋磚引玉, Pāo zhuān yǐn yù)

Meaning-

Bait someone by making them believe they gain something or to just make them react to it ("toss out a brick") to obtain something valuable from them in return ("get a jade gem").

18-Defeat the enemy by capturing their chief 

(擒賊擒王, Qín zéi qín wáng)

Meaning-

If the enemy's army is strong but is allied to the commander only by money, superstition, or threats, target the leader. If the commander falls, the rest of the army will disperse or join one's side. If they are allied to the leader through loyalty, beware, as the army can continue to fight on after their death out of vengeance.

Chapter 4: Melee Stratagems 

(混戰計, Hùnzhàn jì)

19-Remove the firewood from under the pot 

(釜底抽薪, Fǔ dǐ chōu xīn)

Meaning-

Take out the leading argument or asset of someone; "steal someone's thunder". This is the essence of the indirect approach: instead of attacking enemy's fighting forces, direct attacks against their ability to wage war. Literally, take the fuel out of the fire.

20-Disturb the water and catch a fish (渾水摸魚／混水摸魚, Hùn shuǐ mō yú)

Meaning-

Create confusion and exploit it to further one's own goals.

21-Slough off the cicada's golden shell (金蟬脱殼, Jīn chán tuō qiào)

Meaning

Mask oneself. Either leave one's distinctive traits behind and become inconspicuous or masquerade as something or someone else. This strategy is mainly used to escape from a stronger enemy.

22-Shut the door to catch the thief 

(關門捉賊, Guān mén zhuō zéi)

Meaning-

To capture one's enemy, or more generally in fighting wars, to deliver the final blow to the enemy, plan prudently for success; do not rush into action. Before "moving in for the kill", first cut off the enemy's escape routes and any routes from external aid.

23-Befriend a distant state and strike a neighbouring one 

(遠交近攻, Yuǎn jiāo jìn gōng)

Meaning-

Invading nations close to oneself carries a higher chance of success. The battlefields are close to one's domain and as such is easier for one's troops to receive supplies and defend the conquered land. Make allies with nations far away from oneself, as it is unwise to invade them.

24-Obtain safe passage to conquer the State of Guo 

(假途伐虢, Jiǎ tú fá Guó)

Meaning-

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 them in the first place.

Chapter 5: Combined Stratagems 

(並戰計, Bìng zhàn jì)

25-Replace the beams with rotten timbers

(偷梁換柱, Tōu liáng huàn zhù)

Meaning-

Disrupt the enemy's formations, interfere with their methods of operations, and change the rules that they are used to following. In this way the supporting pillar, the common link that makes a group of men an effective fighting force, is removed.

26-Point at the mulberry tree while cursing the locust tree 

(指桑罵槐, Zhǐ sāng mà huái)

Meaning-

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.

27-Feign madness but keep your balance 

(假痴不癲, Jiǎ chī bù diān)

Meaning-

Pretend to be incompetent to create confusion about one's intentions and motivations. Lure the opponent into underestimating one's ability until they drop their guard.

28-Remove the ladder when the enemy has ascended to the roof 

(上屋抽梯, Shàng wū chōu tī)

Meaning-

With baits and deceptions, lure the enemy into treacherous terrain and cut off their lines of communication and escape routes. To save themselves, they must fight both one's own forces and the elements of nature.

29-Decorate the tree with false blossoms 

(樹上開花, Shù shàng kāi huā)

Meaning-

Tying silk blossoms on a dead tree gives the illusion that the tree is healthy. Using artifice and disguise, make something worthless appear valuable and vice versa.

30-Make the host and the guest exchange roles 

(反客為主, Fǎn kè wéi zhǔ)

Meaning-

Usurp leadership in a situation where one is normally subordinate. Infiltrate one's target. Initially, pretend to be a guest to be accepted, but develop from inside and become the owner later.

Chapter 6: Defeat Stratagems 

(敗戰計, Bài zhàn jì)

31-The beauty trap (Honeypot) 

(美人計, Měi rén jì)

Meaning-

Send the 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, the group of men will begin to have issues if the desired women court another man, thus creating conflict and aggressive behavior. Third, other females at court, motivated by jealousy and envy, begin to plot subversions that further exacerbate the situation.

32-The empty fort strategy 

(空城計, Kōng chéng jì)

Meaning-

When the enemy has stronger forces and one expects to be overrun at any moment, act calmly and taunt the enemy, so that the enemy thinks they are walking into an ambush. This stratagem is only successful if in most cases one has a powerful hidden force and the stratagem is seldom used.

33-Let the enemy's own spy sow discord in the enemy camp 

(反間計, Fǎn jiàn jì)

Meaning-

Undermine the enemy's ability to fight by secretly causing discord between them and their friends, allies, advisors, family, commanders, soldiers, and population. While they are preoccupied with settling internal disputes, their ability to attack or defend is compromised.

34-Inflict injury on oneself to win the enemy's trust 

(苦肉計, Kǔ ròu jì)

Meaning-

Pretending to be injured has two advantages: first, the enemy is lulled into lowering their guard since as they no longer consider one to be an immediate threat. Second, ingratiating oneself with the enemy by pretending the injury was caused by a mutual enemy conserves one's strength while one's enemies fight each other.

35-Chain stratagems 

(連環計, Lián huán jì)

Meaning-

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; if any one strategy fails, apply the next strategy.

36-If all else fails, retreat 

(走為上策, Zǒu wéi shàng cè)

Meaning-

If it becomes obvious that one's current course of action will lead to defeat, retreat and regroup. When one's side is losing, three choices remain: surrender, compromise, or escape. Surrender is complete defeat, compromise is half defeat, but escape is not defeat. As long as one is not defeated, there is still a chance. 

This is the most famous of the stratagems and is immortalized in the form of a Chinese idiom: 

"Of the Thirty-Six Stratagems, fleeing is best" 

(三十六計，走為上計, Sānshíliù jì, zǒu wéi shàng jì)

Author

Wáng Jìngzé

https://open.spotify.com/track/6wLrw71NN0JrF3nj0ilFzh?si=B3ncrUYnTLWOKKtEZY9AnQ

American Giza

Khufu exploited government, labor, and trade systems that his predecessors implemented before he came to power. But his pyramid project, unprecedented in its scope, drove the development of these infrastructures to dizzying new heights, and in so doing, primed Egypt to flourish in the centuries to come. Khufu ruthlessly built the Great Pyramid of Giza.

Joe Biden exploited government, labor, and trade systems that his predecessors implemented before he came to power. But his expansion projects, unprecedented in their scope, drove the development of these familial/federal infrastructures to dizzying new heights, and in so doing, primed the Biden dynasty to flourish in the potentially turbulent centuries to come. Some may say ruthlessly.

Giza?

The present is preceded by the pyramids of past potential personas projecting to be impersonated, should popular opportunity presidentially present.

Apology for the P frenzy. I tire of the K's and B's.

Khufu's son Khafre is another of interesting and comparable historic character. Look at this wicked young hunter. The Sphinx. Unexplored and unopened.

History will speak, if you allow yourself the risk to listen.

Milky Way

Love has allowed me to be hugged—but never truly held.

I’ve been rooted in that strange distance my whole life.

Not necessarily flawed,

but born with a silent code of solitude,

a frequency misunderstood from the cradle—and likely, for eternity.

Love—nearly touches me—reverberates through my whole being.

But I have only known it as equation,

as wavelength,

as something to decode.

It has been as damaging as it has been beautiful.

Too deep, too often—it overwhelms.

I was born cake-yellow, jaundiced in light,

in the dawn of Los Angeles,

the hushed cradle of a secret nuclear age.

Trust me, it was there.

My first breath came in a tent of plastic,

surrounded by vibrations—

a love so complete

it nearly became matter,

yet remained unreachable.

I don't remember those moments—but I know them.

I was not alone.

She was there.

Love—raw and mystic.

A telepathic presence.

A knowing without language.

Love could not hold me

as it needed to,

and for that,

it wept behind divinity’s veil—

guilt blooming in the perfection of its creation.

What that first love loved most, I cannot say.

But I know love differently than any soul alive.

Its beginning in me danced to a different rhythm—

a frequency unshared, a connection unbroken.

I still hear its hertz—always—beyond words.

March Ides.

A black day.

A final moment collapsed inward.

No gravity—just vacuum.

I held a 9mm.

Not in thought—but in conclusion.

The equations had failed.

Connection had failed.

Life, as I knew it, was over.

Then—Love struck me.

Not metaphor. Not memory.

Concussion.

A lightning bolt of living force tore through time.

It wasn’t emotion.

It was intelligence.

A presence.

It destroyed and rebuilt me—

in one breathless beat.

I couldn’t see. There was no light.

I couldn’t touch. There were no hands.

But the need was real—

an infant’s primal hunger for being.

And Love…

flowed.

The ancient milk—

the one that feeds the stars,

that quakes in the roots of galaxies—

poured through me.

Everything changed.

Everything could change.

Wonder returned.

Breath returned.

I returned.

Love is not a concept.

It is not a construct.

It is the first sound of the universe—

the echo of a long-lost bird

finally, finally finding its way home.

Love’s flight is not just vision.

It is the air.

The journey.

The all.

-Hermit King-

Wisdom L'chaim

Expansion of one's mind is no sin 

Neither in one's easments by grape to victory

Nor lessening of fear in the seed

Sin is opting for the false elixer

Befuddlements born of mortal madness

Not the blessed prescription of gods own pouring 

Natures open arms and sacred womb

Gifting and allowed to peoples of a thousand cultures, over a thousand lifetimes

Grown in light  and peace and wild.

A subtle warning

In any journey, know your roll and goal. Know your ship sound and worthy, Know each risk is understood.

Maturely captain, best fitness for the crew. 

Some seas run calm and hazy, others dangerous and dark. Passanger well.

Always steer sober. 

A sailors only duty is care first for the vessel

and the courageous search for knowledge in every journey's wave. Simple Wisdom.

-Hermit King-

https://open.spotify.com/track/6qgiSeYw2abTYHrk98mn5h?si=TExVWrtGSwyjMtpEPDt-EA

The Trumpet

The trumpet sounds, and the moment is now.

We stand at the edge, where two roads divide—

one paved with pride, thrones of greed and iron gates,

the other, a narrow path of mercy and light.

The winds howl from both directions,

and the choice presses on every heart—

nation, city, and household alike.

Will we cling to what crumbles,

hoarding power as walls crack beneath our feet,

casting stones at the innocent,

and calling it justice?

Or will we lay down our weapons—

not only of steel but of bitterness—

to build anew, with hands open and hearts soft?

One road leads to ruin:

towers fall, the streets grow silent,

and strangers turn against neighbors.

Hunger stalks every home,

and peace becomes a myth of the past.

The land groans beneath the weight of its own sorrow,

a wilderness of broken promises

where no song takes root.

The other road whispers of hope:

Rivers of kindness flowing through every alley,

the laughter of children carried on the breeze.

Sons and daughters returning,

long-lost brothers embracing again.

Leaders serve with humility,

and love mends what fear once tore apart.

Every field blossoms,

and every hand is filled—not with weapons,

but with bread to share.

What will we choose, O people?

O nation so proud, will we bow low

before the One who lifts the humble?

Will we turn from destruction before it overtakes us,

before we are swallowed by our own shadow?

Listen: the time is short, and the hour is heavy.

The soul of the world trembles at this threshold,

waiting for the step we will take.

To chase the mirage of power

or embrace the way of peace?

To divide or to reconcile,

to curse or to bless?

O America, O weary world,

choose the better way.

There is still time to sow the seeds of justice.

There is still time to water the garden of grace.

Lay down the weight of your grudges,

light the lamps of compassion,

and let us walk forward together—

before the night falls,

before the gates close,

while the light is still with us.

The future leans on this fragile moment.

May we not be found clinging to ashes,

but reaching for a brighter dawn.

Choose life. Choose love. Choose the narrow way,

where mercy leads and hope endures forever.

-Isaiah, Hermit King, and Sean-

https://open.spotify.com/track/3de5G6UYtPzUIHppiZwMAc?si=MZWd2QnwQQO0vQslT54yMg

The Angels Keep

It began with a whisper, a breath of light against the void, a flicker of thought in the heart of humankind, to rise from the soil, to leave the known behind, for somewhere in the endless depths of night, a kingdom of stars awaited, guarded by the quiet wings of eternity.

The stars were not just distant suns, but the jewels of the Angel’s Keep, watched over by silence and grace, calling us with a longing we could not resist.

We gazed upward, not for answers, but for the yearning of something greater, a hunger to ascend to the realms where the sacred dwells and myths awaken.

The angel of space, unseen but felt, spread its wings around the stars, its timeless gaze upon us, waiting for us to reach.

We felt its presence in the pull of the unknown, something vast, something eternal,

just beyond the reach of our mortal hands.

Our first steps were hesitant, fragile ships trembling against the weight of the void. But with each ascent, we felt the angel’s light grow nearer, a faint invitation to enter the sanctuary.

We learned quickly that no one rises alone, that to climb the steps to the Keep, we needed one another, a communion bound by the stars.

We touched the Moon’s pale surface,

not as conquerors,

but as travelers at the threshold of the Keep’s gate, dust in our hands, and wonder in our hearts.

We knew then that the journey was far from over, that the Angel’s Kingdom lay farther still,

in the quiet, distant orbits of worlds we had yet to touch.

Our vessels became the seekers of faith, pushing deeper, tracing the paths of the angel’s wings, from the gleaming rings of distant planets to the shadowed plains of moons forgotten by time.

We sent our voices across the void, hoping the ancient guardian would hear, hoping the universe itself would recognize us.

And even in silence, we knew we had been heard, for each question we asked was a prayer offered to the stars.

We built havens in the sky, places to rest our weary spirits, to learn the song of the heavens, to dwell for a time beneath the Angel’s wings.

We fell, we faltered, but each fall was a lesson, each moment of fire a reminder

that the ascent was never meant to be easy,

that the Keep was sacred, guarded by trials of patience and perseverance.

Through the angel’s gaze, we began to see ourselves, not as conquerors, but as pilgrims,

humble before the vastness of the Keep.

Galaxies spun like the folds of a celestial robe, nebulae bloomed like divine breath, and in the face of such grace, we found our humility.

Yet the Keep did not turn us away. It opened its doors, drawing us nearer to the heart of its light. But the Angel’s Kingdom is not reached in haste. The orbits of distant moons, the silent spirals of gas giants, became our guides in patience, teaching us that to ascend is to cherish the journey as much as the destination.

We circled, we soared, but always the angel beckoned us higher.

And in our souls, one question burned brighter than all:

Are we alone in this sacred kingdom?

With every probe we sent, every rover that crossed barren lands, we sought the answer,

not just in the stars, but in the quiet places of our soul.

We knew that to reach the Angel’s Keep

was not just to find the stars, but to find ourselves reflected in them.

Then came the dreamers, those who did not wait for nations, but took the quest into their own hands.

They saw the Angel’s Keep not as a distant fortress, but as a home that all might one day share.

They whispered of belonging, that the stars were not reserved for the chosen few, but for all who dared to rise.

They dreamed of pathways through the angel’s realm, open to any heart brave enough to ascend.

And so we built ships, not just to visit the stars, but to stay, to make homes beneath alien skies, to walk on crimson sands and feel the angel’s gaze upon us, not as intruders, but as kindred souls.

This was the journey entire: a slow ascent, a quest into the divine, where the Angel’s Keep awaited.

We rose not simply to escape, but to become something more. To know the stars, to dwell in their light, was to become part of the angel’s grace.

In the Keep, we found not just the universe, but the deeper truth within ourselves, that we were always meant to rise,

to scatter like stardust, and to take our place

in the vast eternal Kingdoms of space and holy Keep of Angels.

-Hermit King-

https://open.spotify.com/track/2Z10kVEtDJwjJsdJmKRxNi?si=sOVoY5FXRTCkjxOdQY4Yhw

Dust and Dream

We are living expressions of an entropic tapestry, a map etched upon the scaffold of existence by the seminal pulse of a higher order intelligence—one that breathes life into dust and dreams. As children of this ancient, awakened force—rooted in stardust and divine spark—we are bound to an eternal lineage of creators, artists, and seekers, each tasked with the sacred duty of adding to our unique verse in the symphony.

On the grand stage of becoming, we are the holy children, rising through the estates of existence: inheritors of the primal light, bearers of a flame kindled long before the first note was sung by those ancient rock stars who blazed across the heavens. They danced with defiance, harmonizing chaos with order, and from their wake, we emerged—beings caught between entropy and ecstasy, purpose and play.

We are called to multiply our visions, to energize the world with our passion, to achieve what seems impossible, and to bend—not to break, but to adapt, evolve, and transcend. The play must go on, and each of us is both audience and actor, tasked with breathing new life into old myths, creating fresh paths from ancient truths.

In every struggle, every moment of triumph, we resonate with the echoes of those who came before, each act a thread in the vast, unfolding drama of creation. The universe plays its endless tune, and we—its living instruments—must rise to the challenge of harmony, dissonance, and the divine call to carry on our life's eternal song of dust and dreams.

-Hermit King-

https://open.spotify.com/track/2UmhFlPuriXuFgOTh1DXSe?si=Ygd8X53zRTST6EHGqhJN8A&context=spotify%3Aalbum%3A5lGCk7Grg3emarpvpLY702