stratagem

  • Han Feizi – Chapter 21.22

    Han Fei tells King Wen gave a jade tablet to Shang’s corrupt Fei Zhong, not the virtuous Jiao Ge, to weaken Shang. True wisdom is subtle statecraft.

  • Driving the Tiger to Swallow the Wolf Stratagem [Three Kingdoms]

    To eliminate the threat posed by Liu Bei and Lü Bu’s control of Xuzhou, Cao Cao adopted a step-by-step strategy proposed by Xun Yu. First, he used the “Feeding Two Tigers to Fight” stratagem, petitioning the court to appoint Liu Bei as Governor of Xuzhou while secretly ordering him to execute Lü Bu. This…

  • Two tigers competing food stratagem [Three Kingdoms]

    The “Feeding two tigers to fight”, “Two tigers competing food” or “Two tigers fight for food” was a stratagem devised by Xun Yu for Cao Cao during the late Eastern Han Dynasty, originating from Chapter 14 of Romance of the Three Kingdoms. It refers to creating conflict between two rival parties, instigating them to…

  • Why Wukong accused Tathagata of trickery?

    In Journey to the West, when Sun Wukong was imprisoned under the Five Elements Mountain, Guanyin Bodhisattva visited him. Wukong declared, “Tathagata deceived me!” But why did he claim deception? How exactly did Tathagata trick him?