Thirty-Six Stratagems
Whereas other Chinese military texts such as Sun Zi's The Art of War focus on military organization, leadership, and battlefield tactics, the Thirty-Six Strategies are more suitably applied in the fields of politics, diplomacy, and espionage. These proverbs describe not only battlefield strategies, but tactics used in psychological warfare to undermine both the enemy's will to fight - and his sanity. Tactics such as the 'double cross', the 'frame job', and the 'bait and switch', can be traced back through thousands of years of Chinese history to such proverbs as 'Hide the Dagger Behind a Smile', 'Kill With a Borrowed Sword', and 'Toss out a Brick to Attract Jade' respectively. Though other Chinese military works of strategy have at least paid lip service to the Confucian notion of honour, the Thirty-Six Strategies make no pretence of being anything but ruthless.
For the western reader the Thirty-Six Strategies offers timeless insights into the workings of human nature under conditions of extreme stress. Many of the proverbs are based on events that occurred during China's Warring States Era (403-221 BC). This was a time so infamous, that a later Emperor banned history books of that era on the grounds that they contained accounts of such a devious nature, they would morally corrupt all who read them. Many of those accounts are presented here along with the exploits of some of the orient's greatest generals, kings, emperors, and shoguns. Over 118 anecdotes are included to both explain and offer examples of each strategy's application. By learning from the old masters of the art of deception, one is better able to spot the modern pretenders, for, though the players come and go, the game remains the same.
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“三十六计”一词语出《南齐书·王敬则传》提到的“三十六策”：“敬则曰：‘檀公三十六策，走是上计。汝父子唯应急走耳。’”檀公，指南朝宋时名将檀道济，“走为上计”指檀道济伐魏不利，粮草被焚，宋军乏食，主动退兵之事。他把计谋全用在“走”上面，包括“唱筹量沙”和“空城计”(都是装腔作势而得以撒退)，而有“走为上计”的说法。三十六计的典故由此而来。但对于当时是否已有“三十六计”这样一本书，《南齐书》和《南史》中均无记载。宋代惠洪《冷斋夜话》有：“三十六计，走为上计”一语。元朝以后，此语多见于小说戏曲之中，例如关汉卿《窦娥冤˙第二折》：“常言道的好，三十六计，走为上计，喜得我是孤身，又无家小连累，不若收拾了细软行李，打个包儿，悄悄的躲到别处，另做营生，岂不干净。”余易木《初恋的回声》七：“女婿比较机灵，一看形势不妙，三十六计，走为上计，溜之大吉。”《水浒传》第二回：“娘道：'我儿，三十六着，走为上着，只恐没处走。'”李玉《牛头山》第七出：“皇爷不要着急，三十六着走为上着。” |
三十六计根据《易经》，六和八是阴的成数，而六更是阴数之极；三十六本为虚数，是阴数之极的平方，因此三十六计暗喻极多计谋。 成书一般的说法是，明清年间，有人取书籍中的成语或典故，凑足三十六之数，写成《三十六计》一书。据史载《三十六计》最早见于《南齐书·王敬则传》，书中记载：“檀公三十六策，走是上计。汝夫子唯应急走耳。”因此有人以为《三十六计》就是檀道济所著。2003年，郭克义在济宁市发现了一部隋代玉简《三十六计》，隋代玉简册的发现更加肯定了这个观点，《三十六计》成书时间上推了一千多年。 《三十六计》全书以《易经》为依据，引用《易经》27处，涉及六十四卦中的二十二个卦。根据其中的阴阳变化，推演出一套适用于兵法中的刚柔、奇正、攻防、彼己、主客、劳逸等对立转换变化，其计谋体现了极强的辨证哲理。1941年分州（今陕西省分县）由成都兴华印刷厂用土纸翻印，封面书《三十六计》旁注“秘本兵法”是较早的《三十六计》流行版本。 下载三十六计原文： 
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