Secret Art of War for Today’s Entrepreneurs

Adapted and Illustrated by Wang XuanmingTranslated by Geraldine Goh & Y N Han

About the Illustrator

Wang Xuanming , a contemporary cartoonist in China, was bornin Beijing in 1950. He was trained formally in commercial art and industrialart. Since 1972, he has been engaged in various aspects of artistic work.He frequently explores various ways of expressing his artistic talents.Besides a lot of cartoons, picture books and illustrations, he makes oilpaintings and posters. His works have on many occasions won awards inseveral art competitions and have been included in various art albums.

Wang’s works have been serialised in all the major newspapersand publications in Beijing since 1980. His cartoons entitled DifferentGravitational Force are praised by famous Chinese artists. In 1987, heparticipated in the creation of the animated cartoon Brother Elephant,which won the hearts of many children when it first appeared on television.

In his Strategy and Leadership Series, he uses a simple andhumorous art form to introduce ancient Chinese military classics to modernreaders. The books were very well received when they were first publishedin China; the Beijing Radio Station reviewed and highly recommendedthem to the public.

Introduction

Until recently, not many people may have read the book The 36Stratagems. But they certainly would have come across the saying: “Ofthe 36 stratagems, running away is the best option”, or “Lure the tiger outof the mountain”. The popular saying, “Of the 36 stratagems, runningaway is the best option”, first appeared in the official history of SouthernQi about 1,500 years ago. Since then, it has gained increasing popularity.

About 300 years ago, either towards the end of the Ming Dynasty orthe beginning of the Qing Dynasty, an unknown scholar decided to compileall the 36 stratagems into a small book called Secret Art of War: The 36Stratagems. It initially only circulated and survived in handwritten copies.It was first published in 1941 by the Xinghua Printing House in Chengdu,Sichuan. Since then, several editions have appeared in Chinese and otherEast Asian languages.

The 36 stratagems are grouped into six sets; the first three are designedfor use when one holds the advantage, and the second three when one isat a disadvantage. This categorization, however, was never meant to berigid. On the contrary, several millennia of practising and refining battletactics have taught the Chinese military strategists that the highest principleof all was flexibility.

In most modern books on the 36 stratagems, examples from themany battles of ancient China are given on the application of the stratagems.The examples show the ingenuity, folly, bravery and even calculatedbrutality of the Chinese in warfare. Although the examples of the use ofthe stratagems are drawn from Chinese history, there is no doubt thattheir application can be universal as human nature is basically the sameeverywhere. War is a human activity, therefore it follows certain patternswhich are a projection of human nature. As long as human nature doesnot change, war will continue to follow certain patterns which can beobserved by a discerning mind.

The application of The 36 Stratagems is not limited to the battlefield.Now in 36 Business Stratagems, you can witness its relevance and powerin everyday business situations.

Koh Kok Kiang

Contents

Prologue

Stratagems When in Superior PositionCross the Sea Under Camouflage 2Besiege Wei to Rescue Zhao 9

Kill with a Borrowed Knife 16

Wait at Leisure for the Exhausted Enemy 22

Loot a Burning House 31

Make a Noise in the East While Attacking in the West 38

Stratagems for ConfrontationCreate Something Out of Nothing 45Advance to Chencang by a Hidden Path 51

Watch a Fire from Across the Riverbank 57

Conceal a Dagger in a Smile 65

Sacrifice the Plum for the Peach 72

Lead Away a Goat in Passing 77

Stratagems for AttackBeat the Grass to Startle the Snake 84Use a Corpse to Resurrect a Dead Soul 90

Lure the Tiger Out of the Mountain 94

Let the Enemy Go in order to Snare Him 99

Cast a Brick to Attract Jade 104

To Catch the Rebels, Nab Their Leader First 109

Stratagems for Confused SituationsRemove the Firewood From Under the Cauldron 116

Seize a Fish in Turbid Water 122

The Cicada Sheds its Shell 126

Bolt the Door to Catch the Thief 130

Befriend a Distant State While Attacking a Neighbour 136

Borrow a Route to Conquer Guo 140

Stratagems for Gaining GroundSteal the Beams and Change the Pillars 146

Point at the Mulberry and Curse the Locust 151

Feigning Foolishness 156

Remove the Ladder after the Ascent 162

Putting False Flowers on the Tree 168

The Roles of Host and Guest Reversed 174

Stratagems for Desperate SituationsBeauty Trap 180

The Ploy of an Empty City 185

Bring About In-fighting in the Enemy’s Camp 191

Self-inflicted Injury to Hoodwink the Enemy 197

A Series of Stratagems 203

When Beating a Retreat is the Best Way Out 209

1

StratagemsWhen in Superior Position

• Cross the Sea Under Camouflage •

• Besiege Wei to Rescue Zhao •

• Kill with a Borrowed Knife •

• Wait at Leisure for the Exhausted Enemy •• Loot a Burning House •

• Make a Noise in the East While Attacking in the West •

2

Stratagem 1

Cross the Sea Under Camouflage

Under the perception that defence is foolproof, one’s guard is loweredand fighting spirit slackened. No suspicion is attached to things that areoften seen. But conspiracy can be hidden most naturally in things thatare open. We should learn to recognize dangers concealed perfectly,

not in the dark, but in the open.

I’ve beenhoodwinked!

On the 17th year of Zhenguan, Emperor Tang Taizong led anarmy of 300,000 strong to the east to wage war. The march cameto a stop when they reached the sea. Taizong was overawed bythe high, rolling waves. It was then that a wealthy man invited theEmperor and his officials to his manor. While they were drinking,strong winds began to blow and they heard the roaring of waves.Taizong lifted the curtain, looked out of the window and realizedthey were actually on a ship sailing on the rolling sea.

Xue Rengui, a valiantwarrior, had disguised himself

and camouflaged the ship as aluxurious manor. Emperor

Taizong did not notice anythingamiss and managed to cross the

sea successfully.

Historical War Stratagem Case Study

3

“To cross the sea undercamouflage” is a tactic toachieve one’s goals by hidingthe truth under a shroud offalse indications. Commonoccurrences are unlikely tocreate suspicions. This is acommon error of observation.

When competition is stiff, entrepreneurs must becreative to produce false signs to camouflage theirbusiness plans. This is one of the ways to gain greaterbusiness opportunities.

Points to remember when applying the stratagem:

1. Resort to every means to camouflage your goalsso that your opponents will have no inkling ofyour plans and will not take precautionarymeasures.

2. Pick an opportune time to “cross the sea” anddo so before your goals are discovered. This willensure success.

Guarding businesssecrets is of utmost

importance. If your businessplans become the talk of the

town, your rivals will bewarned and will step up

precautionary measures. Thiswill throw obstacles in yourway and may even result in

losses.

Keep yourself informed, knowyour opponent’s temperament,thinking and behaviour. All thiswill help in the formulation and

implementation of yourstrategy. It is another way to

ensure success.

Business Stratagem

4

Business StratagemCase Study 1

Seeking the mostreasonable price

In Pennsylvania, America, the owners of two storeslocated side by side became arch-enemies.

Bedsheets$6.50each

Bedsheets$5.95each

Yourgoods areinferior!

You jackedup the prices!

Liar!

Their rivalry drew a lot ofattention.

It’ll be soldout if you’re

too late.

With the price war,customers were ableto make many happypurchases.

5

Closing-down sale!

One day, one of the bosses passedaway. A few days later…

The other boss closed down his store andmoved out of Pennsylvania.

No morebargains.

By distracting thecustomers, they succeeded

in achieving their salestargets.

When the new shop-owner cleaned up the place,he discovered a secret passageway linking thebedrooms of the two bosses.

They’re…actuallybrothers.

The price war was actually ameans of finding the mostreasonable price.

The shop with the most acceptableprice would sell all the goods of bothshops.

6

Business StratagemCase Study 2

Conceal oneself,know one’s rival

A Japanese firm met up with an American firm to discussa technical cooperation.

Statistics, issuesfor discussion,expenditure,

costs…

Listenattentively…

Record indetail…

The Americans spoke fora few hours…

What areyour views?

Well… We’renot prepared

yet… andcan’t give you

the data.

In the following few months, thetwo parties held two morediscussions. The Japanesealways seemed unprepared andnothing was achieved.

Don’t release any more informationand stop negotiations. If theJapanese don’t change their

attitude in six months, calloff the deal.

7

To their surprise, a few days later, theJapanese sent a huge negotiation teamcomprising the original key members toAmerica.

The Americanswere caughtunprepared. Quick, gather

the negotiationteam!

This time, the Japanesehad brought massive

amounts of data. Theyhad made careful plans in

the aspects of technicalskills, resources and

manpower.

We’ve draftedthe agreement.Perhaps you’d

like to peruse it.

The Americans were too taken aback tooffer any comments or suggestions.Reluctantly, they signed the agreement.Later, they discovered that certain termsof the agreement favoured theJapanese more.

In the first few discussions, the Japanese hadpretended to be unprepared with the motive ofstudying the Americans’ plan more closely.Once they had a clear picture, theyimmediately worked on the details of theagreement.

A thin linedivides skilful

deception and plaincheating. Never

cheat in businessor your credibility

will be lost andyou’ll have little

to gain.

8

Business StratagemCase Study 3

Hiddenopportunities inselling through

bundling ofproducts

Some toothpastemanufacturers sold toothpasteand toothbrush as a package. Cheap sale!

Selling at the priceof the toothpaste

only!

BigDiscounts

Consumers made thepurchases happily.

Quick, go now.You can get a free

toothbrush.

The free toothbrush had a headlonger than that of the averagetoothbrush. When you use the

toothbrush, you’ll naturallysqueeze more toothpaste on it.

Run outagain?

The toothpaste ran out fast. This meant thatconsumers had to buy toothpaste more often.

Some entrepreneurs use thebundling technique of buy-one-get-one-free to promote sales. It

looks like a losing proposition butin actual fact, entrepreneurs would

apply this technique only aftercareful calculation.