Chapter 4: Chaos Stratagems
第四套：混戰(zhàn)計

第十九計 釜底抽薪
extracting the firewood from under the cauldron

▌原文

不敵其力，而消其勢，兌下乾上之象。

▌英文注釋

Take out the leading argument or asset of someone; "steal someone's thunder". This is the very essence of indirect approach: instead of attacking enemy's fighting forces, the attacks are directed against his ability to wage war.

第二十計 混水摸魚
muddling the water to catch the fish; fishing in troubled waters

▌原文

乘其陰亂，利其弱而無主。隨，以向晦入宴息。

▌英文注釋

Create confusion and use this confusion to further your own goals.

第二十一計 金蟬脫殼
slipping away by casting off a cloak; getting away like the cicada sloughing its skin

▌原文

存其形，完其勢；友不疑，敵不動。巽而止蠱。

▌英文注釋

Mask yourself. Either leave one's distinctive traits behind, thus becoming inconspicuous, or masquerade as something or someone else.

This strategy is mainly used to escape from enemy of superior strength.

第二十二計 關門捉賊
catching the thief by closing / blocking his escape route

▌原文

小敵困之。剝，不利有攸往。

▌英文注釋

To capture your enemy, or more generally in fighting wars, to deliver the final blow to your enemy, you must plan prudently if you want to succeed. Do not rush into action. Before you "move in for the kill", first cut off your enemy's escape routes, and cut off any routes through which outside help can reach them.

第二十三計 遠交近攻
befriending the distant enemy while attacking a nearby enemy

▌原文

形禁勢格，利從近取，害以遠隔。上火下澤。

▌英文注釋

It is known that nations that border each other become enemies while nations separated by distance and obstacles make better allies.

When you are the strongest in one field, your greatest threat is from the second strongest in your field, not the strongest from another field.

第二十四計 假途伐虢
attacking the enemy by passing through a common neighbor

▌原文

兩大之間，敵脅以從，我假以勢。困，有言不信。

▌英文注釋

Borrow the resources of an ally to attack a common enemy. Once the enemy is defeated, use those resources to turn on the ally that lent you them in the first place.

第五套：并戰(zhàn)計
Chapter 5: Proximate Stratagems

第二十五計 偷梁換柱
stealing the beams and pillars and replacing them with rotten timbers

▌原文

頻更其陣，抽其勁旅，待其自敗，而后乘之。曳其輪也。

▌英文注釋

Disrupt the enemy's formations, interfere with their methods of operations, change the rules in which they are used to following, go contrary to their standard training.

In this way you remove the supporting pillar, the common link that makes a group of men an effective fighting force.

第二十六計 指桑罵槐
reviling/abusing the locust tree while pointing to the mulberry

▌原文

大凌小者，警以誘之。剛中而應，行險而順。

▌英文注釋

To discipline, control, or warn others whose status or position excludes them from direct confrontation; use analogy and innuendo. Without directly naming names, those accused cannot retaliate without revealing their complicity.

第二十七計 假癡不癲
feigning madness without becoming insane

▌原文

寧偽作不知不為，不偽作假知妄為。靜不露機，云雷屯也。

▌英文注釋

Hide behind the mask of a fool, a drunk, or a madman to create confusion about your intentions and motivations. Lure your opponent into underestimating your ability until, overconfident, he drops his guard. Then you may attack.

第二十八計 上屋抽梯
removing the ladder after the enemy has climbed up the roof

▌原文

假之以便，唆之使前，斷其援應，陷之死地。遇毒，位不當也。

▌英文注釋

With baits and deceptions, lure your enemy into treacherous terrain. Then cut off his lines of communication and avenue of escape. To save himself, he must fight both your own forces and the elements of nature.

第二十九計 樹上開花
putting artificial flowers on trees

▌原文

借局布勢，力小勢大。鴻漸于陸，其羽可以為儀也。

▌英文注釋

Tying silk blossoms on a dead tree gives the illusion that the tree is healthy. Through the use of artifice and disguise, make something of no value appear valuable; of no threat appear dangerous; of no use appear useful.

第三十計 反客為主
turning from the guest into the host

▌原文

乘隙插足，扼其主機，漸之進也。

▌英文注釋

Usurp leadership in a situation where you are normally subordinate. Infiltrate your target. Initially, pretend to be a guest to be accepted, but develop from inside and become the owner later.

第六套：敗戰(zhàn)計
Chapter 6: Desperate Stratagems

第三十一計 美人計
using seductive women to corrupt the enemy

▌原文

兵強者，攻其將；將智者，伐其情。將弱兵頹，其勢自萎。利用御寇，順相保也。

▌英文注釋

Send your enemy beautiful women to cause discord within his camp. This strategy can work on three levels.

First, the ruler becomes so enamoured with the beauty that he neglects his duties and allows his vigilance to wane.

Second, other males at court will begin to display aggressive behaviour that inflames minor differences hindering co-operation and destroying morale.

Third, other females at court, motivated by jealousy and envy, begin to plot intrigues further exacerbating the situation.

第三十二計 空城計
presenting a bold front to conceal unpreparedness

▌原文

虛者虛之，疑中生疑。剛柔之際，奇而復奇。

▌英文注釋

When the enemy is superior in numbers and your situation is such that you expect to be overrun at any moment, then drop all pretense of military preparedness, act calmly and taunt the enemy, so that the enemy will think you have a huge ambush hidden for them.

It works best by acting calm and at ease when your enemy expects you to be tense.

第三十三計 反間計
sowing discord among the enemy

▌原文

疑中之疑。比之自內，不自失也。

▌英文注釋

Undermine your enemy's ability to fight by secretly causing discord between him and his friends, allies, advisors, family, commanders, soldiers, and population. While he is preoccupied settling internal disputes, his ability to attack or defend is compromised.

第三十四計 苦肉計
deceiving the enemy by torturing one's own man

▌原文

人不自害，受害必真。假真真假，間以得行。童蒙之吉，順以巽也。

▌英文注釋

Pretending to be injured has two possible applications. In the first, the enemy is lulled into relaxing his guard since he no longer considers you to be an immediate threat.

The second is a way of ingratiating yourself to your enemy by pretending the injury was caused by a mutual enemy.

第三十五計 連環(huán)計
coordinating one stratagem with another

▌原文

將多兵眾，不可以敵，使其自累，以殺其勢。在師中吉，承天寵也。

▌英文注釋

In important matters, one should use several stratagems applied simultaneously after another as in a chain of stratagems. Keep different plans operating in an overall scheme; however, in this manner if any one strategy fails, then the chain breaks and the whole scheme fails.

第三十六計 走為上
decamping being the best; running away as the best choice

▌原文

全師避敵。左次無咎，未失常也。

▌英文注釋

If it becomes obvious that your current course of action will lead to defeat, then retreat and regroup. When your side is losing, there are only three choices remaining: surrender, compromise, or escape.

Surrender is complete defeat, compromise is half defeat, but escape is not defeat.

As long as you are not defeated, you still have a chance.This is the most famous of the stratagems, immortalized in the form of a Chinese idiom: "Of the Thirty-Six Stratagems, fleeing is best".

（來源：中國日報網雙語新聞微信，編輯：何娜）