Fictional or semi-fictional stories and practical concepts are like yin and yang, the two fundamental principles of ancient Chinese philosophy. Although apparently contradictory, the two coexisting aspects are often complementary, interconnected and interdependent in Chinese culture.
In this book, we present just such yin and yang, namely, “Chinese Mythology” and the “Thirty-Six Stratagems.”
The mythology here describes ancient beliefs in origins, ancestors, history and deities. It explains how the universe was created and how human beings came into existence. Many elements of mythology were later adapted or assimilated into the three major belief systems in China: Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism.
On the other hand, the “Thirty-Six Stratagems,” a term first used in China more than 1,500 years ago, were originally a collection of strategies or practical ruses for warfare. But today, many Chinese people apply them to politics, business, sports as well as daily living habits.
About the author
Born in Shanghai in 1949, ZHANG Ciyun (Peter) is the founding Editor-in-Chief of Shanghai Daily, a leading regional English-language daily newspaper on the Chinese mainland. He is also a prolific translator and writer.
Mr. Zhang graduated from Jilin Normal University in China, majoring in English language, and later from Stanford University in the United States with a master’s degree in journalism.
Starting from 1980, he had worked in several news agencies in China and helped bring into existence four English-language newspapers, including China Daily and Shanghai Daily.
Chinese Mythology
盘古开天地
Pangu creates the world
女娲造人
Nuwa makes man
女娲补天
Nuwa mends the sky
伏羲的故事
The works of Fuxi
神农的故事
Hail the ‘Divine Farmer’
精卫填海
Jingwei tests the sea
燧人钻木取火
Saved by Fire Fetcher Suiren
夸父追日
Kuafu chases the sun
嫘祖的故事
Tale as smooth as silk
仓颉造字
Birth of a language
后羿射日
Sun-birds bake Earth
嫦娥奔月
Restless Chang’e flees
鲧盗息壤
Gun steals Magic Soil
大禹治水
Yu harnesses flooding
瑶姬的故事
Goddess Peak of Wushan Mountain
牛郎织女
The cowherd and the girl weaver
愚公移山
Moving mountains
钟馗的故事
The Demon Queller
十二生肖
Zodiac animals
Thirty-Six Stratagems
瞒天过海
Deceiving the heavens to cross the sea
围魏救赵
Besieging Wei to save Zhao
借刀杀人
Killing with a borrowed knife
以逸待劳
Waiting at ease for a worn-out enemy
趁火打劫
Looting a house when it’s on fire
声东击西
Distracting your enemy with s feint
无中生有
Creating something out of nothing
暗度陈仓
A ruse to divert your enemies
隔岸观火
Sit on your hands and watch others fight
笑里藏刀
Hiding a dagger behind a smile
李代桃僵
Sacrificing the less valuable
顺手牵羊
Pilfering a goat in passing
打草惊蛇
Startling the snake, or not
借尸还魂
The ploy of incarnation
调虎离山
Luring the tiger out of the mountain
欲擒故纵
Letting up on your pursuit
抛砖引玉
Throw out a brick to attract a piece of jade
擒贼擒王
Capture your enemy's leader first
釜底抽薪
Remove the burning firewood
浑水摸鱼
Fishing in turbid waters
金蝉脱壳
Ruse of the golden cicada
关门捉贼
Shut the door to catch the thief
远交近攻
Make allies before attacking a neighbor
借道伐虢
Defeating one enemy at a time
偷梁换柱
Swapping good wood for bad
指桑骂槐
The tactic of not directly naming names
假痴不癫
Feign inaction before an all-out offensive
上屋抽梯
Cutting off escape routes
树上开花
Defending with ‘blossoms’
反客为主
Guest outstaying welcome
美人计
Beaten by womanly wiles
空城计
An empty fortress strategy
反间计
Sowing distrust in enemy camp
苦肉计
Hurting oneself in order to hurt the enemy
连环计
Multi-ploy scheme at play
走为上计
When everything fails, retreat
瞒天过海
Deceiving the heavens to cross the sea
This scheme about deceit and disguise is usually listed as number one of the well-known “Thirty-Six Stratagems.”
Here, the “heavens” meant originally the “emperor,” since a ruler of an empire was always referred to as “the Son of Heaven” in Chinese history.
Li Shimin (599-649 AD) was the second emperor of the Tang Dynasty and was known as a great military commander. Once he led more than 300,000 men to conquer a land on the other side of a sea. But when they arrived at the shoreline, the emperor got cold feet from looking at the billowing sea waves.
However, Li’s aides didn’t want him to abandon the conquest and Xue Rengui, one of the most famous generals of that time, decided to use a scheme to deceive the emperor and lead him to cross the sea without his knowing it.
So, Xue and other officials went to see the emperor and told him that a local rich man had volunteered to provide large quantities of food and fodder for the imperial troops. The rich man had invited the emperor to attend a ceremony near the sea to accept his present
the next day.
The emperor was very happy and decided to see the rich man himself. When Li and his troops came to the coast next day, they saw thousands of houses covered with bright and colorful curtains.
The rich man escorted the emperor into a large, carpeted house and began to entertain him with a sumptuous banquet.
The emperor enjoyed the delicious food and fine wine until suddenly the house began to rock and dishes and bowls all fell off
the table. By lifting the curtains and looking outside, the emperor found that he was actually aboard a large boat with thousands of
other boats and they were already on the high seas.
Then Xue and other officials told the emperor the truth. To help dispel the emperor’s reluctance to cross the sea, they had disguised boats as houses and now they were only a short moment away from the opposite coast and it was too late to return.
So, how would the emperor, himself a great military commander, be deceived by such a trick? The reason is quite simple. The emperor might not be familiar with the sea, but he knew too well the common houses. He might be wary about getting on to the sea, but he walked into a house with little suspicion.
Therefore, the best way to disguise one’s true objective is to hide it under something too common to invite any doubt.
