第三套：攻战计

　　第十三计 打草惊蛇

　　beating the grass to frighten the snake

　　▌原文

　　疑以叩实，察而后动。复者，阴之媒也。

　　▌英文注释

　　Do something unaimed, but spectacular ("hitting the grass") to provoke a response of the enemy ("startle the snake"), thereby giving away his plans or position, or just taunt him.

　　Do something unusual, strange, and unexpected as this will arouse the enemy s suspicion and disrupt his thinking.

　　More widely used as "[Do not] startle the snake by hitting the grass". An imprudent act will give your position or intentions away to the enemy.

　　第十四计 借尸还魂

　　resurrecting a dead soul by borrowing a corpse

　　▌原文

　　有用者，不可借;不能用者，求借。借不能用者而用之。匪我求童蒙，童蒙求我。

　　▌英文注释

　　Take an institution, a technology, a method, or even an ideology that has been forgotten or discarded and appropriate it for your own purpose.

　　Revive something from the past by giving it a new purpose or bring to life old ideas, customs, or traditions and reinterpret them to fit your purposes.

　　第十五计 调虎离山

　　luring the tiger out of his den

　　▌原文

　　待天以困之，用人以诱之，往蹇来返。

　　▌英文注释

　　Never directly attack an opponent whose advantage is derived from its position. Instead lure him away from his position thus separating him from his source of strength.

　　第十六计 欲擒故纵

　　letting the enemy off in order to catch him

　　▌原文

　　逼则反兵，走则减势。紧随勿迫，累其气力，消其斗志，散而后擒，兵不血刃。需，有孚，光。

　　▌英文注释

　　Cornered prey will often mount a final desperate attack. To prevent this you let the enemy believe he still has a chance for freedom.

　　His will to fight is thus dampened by his desire to escape. When in the end the freedom is proven a falsehood the enemy s morale will be defeated and he will surrender without a fight.

　　第十七计 抛砖引玉

　　giving the enemy something to induce him to lose more valuable things

　　▌原文

　　类以诱之，击蒙也。

　　▌英文注释

　　Bait someone by making him believe he gains something or just make him react to it ("toss out a brick") and obtain something valuable from him in return ("get a jade gem").

　　第十八计 擒贼擒王

　　capturing the ringleader first in order to capture all the followers

　　▌原文

　　摧其坚，夺其魁，以解其体。龙战于野，其道穷也。

　　▌英文注释

　　If the enemy s army is strong but is allied to the commander only by money, superstition or threats, then take aim at the leader.

　　If the commander falls the rest of the army will disperse or come over to your side.

　　If, however, they are allied to the leader through loyalty then beware, the army can continue to fight on after his death out of vengeance.

　　4

　　Chapter 4: Chaos Stratagems

　　第四套：混战计

　　第十九计 釜底抽薪

　　extracting the firewood from under the cauldron

　　▌原文

　　不敌其力，而消其势，兑下乾上之象。

　　▌英文注释

　　Take out the leading argument or asset of someone; "steal someone s thunder". This is the very essence of indirect approach: instead of attacking enemy s fighting forces, the attacks are directed against his ability to wage war.

　　第二十计 混水摸鱼

　　muddling the water to catch the fish; fishing in troubled waters

　　▌原文

　　乘其阴乱，利其弱而无主。随，以向晦入宴息。

　　▌英文注释

　　Create confusion and use this confusion to further your own goals.

　　第二十一计 金蝉脱壳

　　slipping away by casting off a cloak; getting away like the cicada sloughing its skin

　　▌原文

　　存其形，完其势;友不疑，敌不动。巽而止蛊。

　　▌英文注释

　　Mask yourself. Either leave one s distinctive traits behind, thus becoming inconspicuous, or masquerade as something or someone else.

　　This strategy is mainly used to escape from enemy of superior strength.

　　第二十二计 关门捉贼

　　catching the thief by closing / blocking his escape route

　　▌原文

　　小敌困之。剥，不利有攸往。

　　▌英文注释

　　To capture your enemy, or more generally in fighting wars, to deliver the final blow to your enemy, you must plan prudently if you want to succeed. Do not rush into action. Before you "move in for the kill", first cut off your enemy s escape routes, and cut off any routes through which outside help can reach them.

　　第二十三计 远交近攻

　　befriending the distant enemy while attacking a nearby enemy

　　▌原文

　　形禁势格，利从近取，害以远隔。上火下泽。

　　▌英文注释

　　It is known that nations that border each other become enemies while nations separated by distance and obstacles make better allies.

　　When you are the strongest in one field, your greatest threat is from the second strongest in your field, not the strongest from another field.

　　第二十四计 假途伐虢

　　attacking the enemy by passing through a common neighbor

　　▌原文

　　两大之间，敌胁以从，我假以势。困，有言不信。

　　▌英文注释

　　Borrow the resources of an ally to attack a common enemy. Once the enemy is defeated, use those resources to turn on the ally that lent you them in the first place.

　　5

　　Chapter 5: Proximate Stratagems