History UsefulNotes / TheThirtySixStratagems

* The Japanese pulled #19 with their [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII attack on Pearl Harbor.]] With the US battle fleet crippled in a single devastating blow, the Japanese were able to attack all over the Pacific without anybody to stop them. Unfortunately, it was only a temporary victory. The fact that the battleships were sunk in a harbor meant that [[OnlyMostlyDead most of them could be raised and repaired]]; the third Japanese attack wave that would have targeted [[BoringButPractical the repair shops, drydocks, and fuel storage depots]] was cancelled as seemingly unnecessary; the US carriers (which turned out to be much more valuable than the battleships anyway) were away from the port and [[CurbStompCushion so missed the attack]]; most importantly, the Japanese expected the US to be [[ShockingDefeatLegacy so shocked by the sudden attack]] that they would be too fearful to respond. [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge The US had different plans.]] Most importantly, the US had the industrial capacity to simply [[WeHaveReserves build more and better battleships.]]

The ''Thirty-Six Stratagems'' are attributed to Sun Tzu of ''Literature/{{The Art of War|SunTzu}}'' fame. [[BeamMeUpScotty He probably never came up with such a list]], especially since the names of several strategies reference events from long after his death, though most of them do have their roots in his book. Think of the two as companion pieces. Like Sun Tzu's own treatise, the ''Thirty-Six'' are used both in real warfare and by "corporate warriors" (given that it gives ways to exploit the psychology of people in stressful circumstances, it has wider {{applicability}} than any kind of battlefield).

The ''Thirty-Six Stratagems'' are attributed to Sun Tzu of ''Literature/{{The Art of War|SunTzu}}'' fame. [[BeamMeUpScotty He probably never came up with such a list]], especially since the names of several strategies reference events from long after his death, though most of them do have their roots in his book. Think of the two as companion pieces. Like Sun Tzu's own treatise, the ''Thirty-Six'' are used both in real warfare and by "corporate warriors"

#瞞天過海/瞒天过海 ''Deceive the heavens and cross the ocean'': [[KansasCityShuffle Mask your real goals with a fake goal]] until your aims are achieved; the enemy will be so annoyed with the constant false alarms that [[CassandraGambit they will ignore you once you make your real move]]. (This rule is also used as a Chinese idiom for "to pull the wool over someone's eyes".)

#反間計/反间计 ''Let the Enemy's own spy sow discord in the Enemy camp'': Undermine your enemy's intelligence-gathering abilities by [[FeedTheMole using their own spies against them]] or planting [[TheMole your]] [[TheMole own]] [[DoubleAgent agents]] among the enemy's.

* [[KnightTemplar Light Yagami]] of ''Manga/DeathNote'' fame has used AT LEAST #3 and #24. He manipulated events so that [[spoiler:Rem would kill Watari and L]] in order to protect Misa. Because of this, [[spoiler: Rem died, too]]. The end result was that Light removed three obstacles from his way by using one of those obstacles' resources against itself. L and Near seemed fond of #26, too.

** #26. The corrupt Elfrieden houses are exposed by being asked to judge Castor and Carla. Their blatant attempt to win favor with him by seals their fate.

[numlist:7]#無中生有/无中生有 ''[[NoMereWindmill Create Something from Nothing]]'': Make somebody believe there was something when there is in fact nothing, or vice versa (i.e. lie like a rug). The general idea is that having [[CryingWolf fallen for a trick once or twice]], an enemy will be unwilling to fall for your trick a third time - so that's when you should ''actually'' attack.
#明修棧道,暗渡陳倉/明修栈道,暗渡陈仓 ''Openly Repair the Walkway, but Sneak through the passage of Chencang'': Deceive the enemy with [[ShortCutsMakeLongDelays an obvious approach that will take a very long time]], while surprising them by taking a shortcut and sneaking up on them. Another interpretation is the KansasCityShuffle -- Distract the enemy with an "obvious" attempt at deception in order to conceal yet another ploy from their attention. The name originated from a real life example during the Chu-Han War around 200 B.C. At that time, Liu Bang is preparing to mobilize his army from modern-day Chengdu and the only way to access to the rest of the area is a Walkway they burned several years earlier to prevent any invasion. Xiang Yu send his forces to the other side of the passage so that they are ready to face them as soon as the construction is completed. However, the repairing is a ploy to lure Xiang Yu's attention and he took a difficult route to unguarded Chencang, thereby preventing a premature annihilation of his army.

The ''Thirty-Six Stratagems'' are attributed to Sun Tzu of ''Literature/{{The Art of War|SunTzu}}'' fame.. [[BeamMeUpScotty He probably never came up with such a list]], especially since the names of several strategies reference events from long after his death, though most of them do have their roots in his book. Think of the two as companion pieces. Like Sun Tzu's own treatise, the ''Thirty-Six'' are used both in real warfare and by "corporate warriors"

[[folder:Live Action TV]]

#暗度陳倉/暗度陈仓 ''Openly Repair the Walkway, but Sneak through the passage of Chencang'': Deceive the enemy with [[ShortCutsMakeLongDelays an obvious approach that will take a very long time]], while surprising them by taking a shortcut and sneaking up on them. Another interpretation is the KansasCityShuffle -- Distract the enemy with an "obvious" attempt at deception in order to conceal yet another ploy from their attention. The name originated from a real life example during the Chu-Han War around 200 B.C. At that time, Liu Bang is preparing to mobilize his army from modern-day Chengdu and the only way to access to the rest of the area is a Walkway they burned several years earlier to prevent any invasion. Xiang Yu send his forces to the other side of the passage so that they are ready to face them as soon as the construction is completed. However, the repairing is a ploy to lure Xiang Yu's attention and he took a difficult route to unguarded Chencang, thereby preventing a premature annihilation of his army.