Personal Library -- The 36 Stratagems

Author: Anonymous Zhao Li et al.
Annotations:
Publisher:
Publication Date: 2004-07-01
Features: "The Thirty-Six Stratagems," also known as "The Secret Military Methods," is a remarkable military classic hailed as "a compendium of wisdom and the pinnacle of strategy." It summarizes the outstanding military thought and rich battle experience of ancient China, making it one of the legacies of the nation's long-standing culture. The Thirty-Six Stratagems represent an important military philosophy in ancient Chinese military thought, which still holds guiding significance for modern warfare. The book "Hongmen Zhi" published by the Heaven and Earth Society during the Qing Dynasty records the names of the "Thirty-Six Stratagems" but lacks specific content. According to research, the popular version of "The Thirty-Six Stratagems" in China originated as early as the 30th year of the Republic of China, published by Chengdu Ruiqinlou and printed on handmade paper by Sichuan Xinghua. This book includes a marginal note reading "Secret Military Methods," has no author listed, and the last three pages are torn. To this day, no one knows who the compiler was or when it was created, and it has not been recorded in any historical military chronicles. However, classical novels, operas, and folk literature frequently mention "The Thirty-Six Stratagems." Throughout the ages, from scholars to commoners, countless people have studied and benefited from it. Across millennia, we cannot help but marvel at the extraordinary military wisdom of our ancestors.