See commentary. Adapted from Gao Yuan: Lure
the Tiger Out of the Mountains: the thirty-six strategems of Ancient China
(London, Piatkus, 1991). For other tables of strategies see: confidence
ploys; value-based;
typology for sustainable
development; strategic
dilemmas
| Assertion | Denial | Assertion with denial | Neither assertion
nor denial |
|
| When holding superiority | For confused situations | |||
| Invention | Cross the sea by fooling
the sky [1]
Besiege kingdom A to save kingdom B [2] Kill with a borrowed knife [3] |
Relax while the enemy
exhausts himself [4]
Loot a burning house [5] Make a feint to East while attacking to West [6] |
Steal the firewood from
under the cauldron [19]
Fish in troubled waters [20] Slough off the cicada's shell [21] |
Shut the door to catch
the thief [22]
Befriend distant state while attacking neighbour [23] Obtain safe passage to conquer the kingdom of A [24] |
| For confrontation | For gaining ground | |||
| Rigidity | Create something out
of nothing [7]
Pretend to take path A while taking path B [8] Watch the fires burning across the river [9] |
Conceal a dagger in a
smile [10]
Sacrifice the plum tree for the peach tree [11] Take the opportunity to pilfer a goat [12] |
Replace the beams and
pillars with rotten timber [25]
Point at the mulberry and curse the locust [26] Play dumb while remaining smart [27] |
Pull down the ladder
after the ascent [28]
Deck the tree with bogus blossoms [29] Make the host and guest exchange places [30] |
| For attack | For desperate straits | |||
| Ambiguity | Beat the grass to startle
the snake [13]
Raise a corpse from the dead [14] Lure the tiger out of the mountains [15] |
Snag the enemy by letting
him off the hook [16]
Cast a brick to attract jade [17] Catch the ringleader to nab the bandits [18] |
Use a woman to ensnare
a man [31]
Fling open the gates to the empty city [32] Let enemy's own spy sow discord in enemy camp [33] |
Inflict injury on self
to win enemy's trust [34]
Chain together the enemy's warships [35] Run away [36] |