Reading History with Strategy -- The Most Valuable Conspiracies and Open Strategies of 5,000 Years

Author: Zhou Zhenwu
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-03-01
Features:
☆ When the ruler is sweet, the subject is sour; when the ruler is indifferent, the subject is salty.
☆ When precautions are complete, intention lulls; when things are common, suspicion wanes.
☆ Only by placing oneself in a death situation can one seek life; only by positioning oneself in a lost situation can one seek survival.
☆ Avoid showing one's talent too early to become a target for all.
☆ Use stillness to control movement, waiting for the right moment to launch a surprise counterattack against the enemy.
☆ Those who like to help many people onto horses also like to pull them down at critical moments.
☆ Those who win every battle are not the individuals, not the pioneers, but always the ones who come last.
☆ Being hands-on in everything does not prove a ruler's wisdom; a wise ruler allows the officials to work while he rests.
☆ Never go to extremes in anything; leave room for maneuver. Winnow the gold from the river of strategy. Throughout China's 5,000-year history, the use of strategy is everywhere. The saying "Deep planning and foresight prevent adversity" speaks to the importance of strategy in life and affairs. This book presents stories of how ancient people used strategy in warfare, business, political maneuvering, and rising to prominence. It provides a comprehensive introduction to aspects such as "enduring humiliation and pain, hiding one's talents," "ambition for power, challenging the throne," "blaming oneself to win hearts," "strategic expansion and mutual benefit or loss," "defaming others to sow discord," "balancing leniency and severity, restraining opponents," "gathering intelligence and probing intentions," and "retiring after success to preserve oneself." The content is rich and the language is easy to understand. Readers can, from the perspective of our time, apply socialist moral principles and value standards, using historical analysis methods, to judge history, evaluate historical figures, and discern the yin and yang of these strategies while reading these short stories.