The "Thirty-Six Stratagems" of Ancient China Quiz

Answer: Tiger

In ancient China, the tiger was considered the fiercest animal, the king of animals, just like the Five Tiger Generals of the state of Shu in the Chinese classic, "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms". A tiger is strong when it is in the familiar surrounding of the mountains. Once it is lured out of the mountains, it becomes vulnerable.

Gao Yuan (born 1952) was born in a mountain village in North China. He experienced the Cultural Revolution when he was a teenager. In 1982, he moved to the US and earned a master's degree in journalism from the University of California and MBA from Sanford University. In 1987, he wrote a book titled "Born Red: A Chronicle of the Cultural Revolution". The book titled "Lure the Tiger out of the Mountain", written in 1991, gave a very concise explanation on "The Thirty-Six Stratagems".

Answer: Fu Xi

The Chinese classics "Book of Changes" ("I Ching") was created by Fu Xi, considered by some to be an ancient Chinese mythological figure. He developed the trigrams (known as bagua in Chinese Pinyin) revealed to him supernaturally. The arrangement was based on the markings on the back of a mythical dragon horse (aka turtle) which emerged from the Luo River. "I Ching" was compiled during the Zhou Dynasty.

The number 36 of the hexagram came from the trigrams on the Book of Changes which is the philosophy of unity of opposition, Yin (female) and Yang (male).

The hexagram consists of 6 stacked horizontal lines, with broken and unbroken lines, consisting of a total of 36 lines. The 36 lines are Qian (Heaven) with 3 lines, Dui (Lake) , Li (Fire) and Xun (Wind), each with 4 lines , Zhen (Thunder), Gen (Mountain) and Kan (Water), each with 5 lines and Kun (Earth) with 6 lines.

Answer: Six

The six sets are stratagems for:
When commanding superiority
Confrontation
Attack
Situations of confusion
Gaining ground
Desperate straits

The first three are for use in a position of strength and the second three for positions of weakness.

Answer: Water

Lao Zi recognized that the water is the most flexible and powerful element. Water can adapt into any situation to erode even the toughest rock.

In a documentary released in 2001 on "Bruce Lee: A Warrior's Journey", Bruce is said to have regarded water as the ultimate symbol of strength. He stated: "Be like water because it is soft, resilient, and formless. It can never be snapped. Water may be soft but yet it is stronger than everything else in existence. That's because of it can overcome any obstacle no matter how hard it is. By doing so, it conquers all without fighting."

Answer: Cross the sea by fooling the sky

This is the first stratagem, the stratagem when commanding superiority. In Chinese Pinyin it is expressed in four words: man (deceive) tian (sky) guo (cross) hai (sea).

in 589, He Nuobi, a general of Sui Dynasty used this strategy to defeat the short-lived Chen dynasty ruler, Chen Shubao. His army was conducting regular exercises nearby until Chen ignored him and he made a sudden swift attack, catching Chen unprepared.

The Allied forces used this strategy against the Germans before the offensive at Normandy in 1944. The landing practice was done many times by dropping parachutes of mannequins until the Germans became used to it. When the Germans relaxed, letting down their guard, the real paratroopers arrived.

Answer: Wei

In Chinese Pinyin, the four words are: wei (besiege) wei (Wei state) jiu (save) zhao (Zhao state).

Sun Zi stated in The Art of War: "He who knows the art of direct and indirect approach will be victorious. Such is the art of maneuvering. The stratagem is to distract a powerful foe by attacking the location the foe values the most."

During the Spring and Autumn Period, Sun Bin and Pang Juan were both disciples studying under one master. They both served the state of Wei, but Pang was always jealous of Sun who was more talented than him. Pang made King Wei lose trust in Sun who got punished by having his kneecaps removed. Sun later escaped to the state of Qi after learning of Pang's plot. When Pang led his army to attack Zhao, King Zhao sought help from the state of Qi. Sun came up with this strategy to attack Wei, after Pang led the Wei's army to attack Zhao. In doing so, he saved the state of Zhao and also defeated his arch enemy.

Answer: Borrowed

The four Chinese words are jie (borrow) dao (knife) sha (kill) ren (people). Old Chinese saying: If you want to do something, make your opponent do it for you.

During the Three Kingdom period (220-280 AD), Cao Cao of Wei made use of the Wu's generals to attack Shu's stronghold at Jingzhou. Cao Cao used the opportunity when Shu Lord Liu Bei, Zhuge Liang and other top generals were fighting to capture Sichuan to establish their base in west China. Wu succeeded in capturing Jingzhou and killed Shu's First Tiger General Guan Yu who was guarding the city.

Although this stratagem may not sound positive, this stratagem can be applied to one trying to adapt to a new environment and dealing with new people. As the old saying goes, "When in Rome, do like the Romans do". The borrowed knife is to adapt to the new environment when dealing with new people.

Answer: Relax

The four Chinese words are yi yi (relax while) dai lao (tiredness, exhaustion).

Lao Zi stated in the "Way of Power": "The female overcomes the male with stillness".

During the Spring and Autumn Period, when the Wei army led by Pang Juan was pursuing Sun Bin, he purposely reduced the number of campfires each night to deceive Pang Juan that his soldiers were deserting. The Wei army was very tired after two days of chasing. When they arrived in a valley, exhausted, Sun Bin's forces released a volley of arrows, killing Pang Juan and defeated the Wei army.

During the Chinese civil war (1945-1949), Mao Zedong regularly used this strategy to tire down the National Army led by Chiang Kai Shek. The Red Army made up for their inferiority in numbers and weapons by making use of mobility, flexibility and surprise to defeat their enemies.

Answer: Loot it

The four Chinese words are chen (while) huo (fire) da jie (loot).

Sunzi stated in "The Art of War": "An enemy with troubles at him is ripe for conquest. Taking advantage of the opponent's misfortunes and even fostering more troubles to sap his strength to divert the resources that might be directed against you".

During the Spring and Autumn Period, after King Gou Jian of Yue was defeated by the King Fuchai of the state of Wu, he and his wife were forced to serve King Fuchai for three years. Gou later get his revenge after Fuchai had became complacent and spend times enjoying himself with his consort Xi Shi. Xi Shi was actually sent by Fan Li (Gou's senior minister) to make Fuchai neglect his duties. They took advantage of his complacency and "looted a burning house" by defeating Wu.

Answer: Attacking

Sun Zi stated in "The Art of War": "The commander who knows how to attack makes his enemy not knowing where to defend". The stratagem is to use directional tactics to deceive the enemy into misinterpreting your movements.

In 1798, Napoleon used this trick on the British Navy. He purposely gave away information that he would attack Ireland from the Atlantic Ocean. Whilst the British Navy was preparing to intercept the French fleet at the Strait of Gilbratar, the French instead sailed through the Mediterranean and entered Alexandria easily to capture Egypt.