Thirty-Six Strategies

What to do? What to do?

So I guess I'll start my blog by listing topics I'll detail later. Perhaps organize based on Wiki? OK. Works for me.

One interest I have is the "Thirty-Six Strategies" as listed in Wiki (from The Book of Stratagems by Harro von Senger, ISBN 0-14-016954-7 ). Here's the list from the book, actual words on Wiki may vary slightly.

1. Fool the Emperor and Cross the Sea.
2. Besiege Wei to Rescue Zhao.
3. Kill with a Borrowed Knife.
4. Await the Exhausted Enemy at Your Ease.
5. Loot a Burning House.
6. Clamor in the East, Attack in the West.
7. Create Something from Nothing.
8. Openly Repair the Walkway, Secretly March to Chencang.
9. Observe the Fire on the Opposite Shore.
10. Hide Your Dagger Behind a Smile.
11. Let the Plum Tree Wither in Place of the Peach.
12. Sieze the Opportunity to Lead the Sheep Away.
13. Beat the Grass to Startle the Snake.
14. Borrow a Corpse for the Soul's Return.
15. Lure the Tiger Down from the Mountain.
16. To Catch Something, First Let It Go.
17. Toss Out a Brick to Attract Jade.
18. To Catch the Bandits, First Capture Their Leader.
19. Steal the Firewood from Under the Pot.
20. Trouble the Water to Catch the Fish.
21. Shed Your Skin Like the Golden Cicada.
22. Shut the Door to Catch the Thief.
23. Befriend a Distant Enemy to Attack One Nearby.
24. Borrow the Road to Conquer Guo.
25. Replace the Beams with Rotten Timbers.
26. Point at the Mulberry, But Curse the Locust Tree.
27. Feign Madness But Keep Your Balance,
28. Lure the Enemy onto the Roof, Then Take Away the Ladder.
29. Deck the Dead Tree with Bogus Blossoms.
30. Exchange the Role of Guest for That of Host.
31. The Stratagem of the Beautiful Woman.
32. The Stratagem of the Open City Gates.
33. The Stratagem of Sowing Discord.
34. The Stratagem of Injuring Yourself.
35. The Stratagem of Linking Stratagems.
36. [When the Situation is Growing Hopeless] Running Away Is the Best Stratagem.

[Translator's note: In the original Chinese, the phrases depicting the 36 Stratagems are not couched in the imperative form used here for most of the English renditions...


Well, that's it. I'll need some shorthand way to refer to them while blogging. At this point s1, s2, etc. seems reasonable.

I think I'll post my "Lists" separately so I don't get to awfully confused in trying to refer back to them. I'll try to do a list on Shakespeare's plays next.

Have a great day!

Do Something Useful!

~PetePixxx