Thirty-Six Strategems (三十六计)

The Thirty-Six Stratagems (simplified Chinese: 三十六计; traditional Chinese: 三十六計) was a Chinese essay used to illustrate a series of stratagems used in politics, war, as well as in civil interaction, often through unorthodox or deceptive means. They were first published in the Western world[citation needed] by the Swiss scholar Harro von Senger after he heard the Chinese proverb "If all else fails, retreat" at Taipei University.

Origin
The name of the collection comes from the Book of Qi, in its seventh biographical volume, Biography of Wáng Jìngzé (王敬則傳).[1] Wáng was a general who had served Southern Qi since the first Emperor Gao of the dynasty. When Emperor Ming came to power and executed many members of the court and royal family for fear that they would threaten his reign, Wáng believed that he would be targeted next and rebelled. As Wáng received news that Xiao Baojuan, son and crown prince of Emperor Ming, had escaped in haste after learning of the rebellion, he commented that "檀公三十六策，走是上計，汝父子唯應急走耳", which can be translated literally as "of the thirty-six stratagems of Lord Tán, retreat was his best, you father and son should run for sure". Lord Tán here refers to general Tan Daoji of the Liu Song Dynasty, who was forced to retreat after his failed attack on Northern Wei, and Wáng mentioned his name in contempt as an example of cowardice.[2]

It should be noted that the number thirty-six was used by Wáng as a figure of speech in this context, and is meant to denote numerous stratagems instead of any specific number. Wáng's choice of this term was in reference to the I Ching, where six is the number of Yin that shared many characteristics with the dark schemes involved in military strategy. As thirty-six is the square of six, it therefore acted as a metaphor for numerous strategies.[2] Since Wáng was not referring to any thirty-six specific stratagems however, the thirty-six proverbs and their connection to military strategies and tactics are likely to have been created after the fact, with the collection only borrowing its name from Wáng's saying.[3]

The original hand-copied paperback that is the basis of the current version was believed to have been discovered in China's Shaanxi province, of an unknown date and author, and put into print by a local publisher in 1941. The Thirty-Six Stratagems only came to the public's attention after a review of it was published in the Chinese Communist Party's Guangming Daily (光明日报) newspaper on September 16, 1961. It was subsequently reprinted and distributed with growing popularity.[3]

The Thirty-Six Stratagems
The Thirty-Six Stratagems are divided into a preface, six chapters containing six stratagems each, and an afterword that was incomplete with missing text. The first three chapters generally describe tactics for use in advantageous situations, whereas the last three chapters contain stratagems that are more suitable for disadvantageous situations. The original text of the Thirty-Six Stratagems has a laconic style that is common to Classical Chinese. Each proverb is accompanied by a short comment, no longer than a sentence or two, that explains how said proverb is applicable to military tactics. These 36 Chinese proverbs are related to 36 battle scenarios in Chinese history and folklore, predominantly of the Warring States Period and the Three Kingdoms Period.

Preface
"六六三十六，數中有術，術中有數。陰陽變理，機在其中。機不可設，設則不中。"


Chapter 1: Winning Stratagems

1.Deceive the heavens to cross the ocean (simplified Chinese: 瞒天过海; traditional Chinese: 瞞天過海; pinyin: Mán tiān guò hǎi)

This stratagem references an episode in 643 AD, when Tang emperor Tang Gaozong Li Simin, balked from crossing the sea to a campaign against Koguryo. His General Xue Rengui thought of a stratagem to get the Emperor across and allay his fear of seasickness: on a clear day, the Emperor was invited to meet a wise man. They entered through a dark tunnel into a hall where they feasted. After feasting several days, the Emperor heard the sound of waves and realized that he had been lured onto a ship! General Xue drew aside the curtains to reveal the ocean and confessed that they had already crossed the sea: Upon discovering this, the emperor decided to carry on and later completed the successful campaign.

This stratagem means that you can mask your real goals, by using the ruse of a fake goal that everyone takes for granted, until the real goal is achieved. Tactically, this is known as an 'open feint'; in front of everyone, you point west, when your goal is actually in the east. By the time everyone realized it, you have already achieved your goal. Harro von Senger notes in the German-Language "Die Liste" that to grasp the full meaning, it would be something like "to deceive the holy virgin Mary" in the West.

Usage
This stratagem makes use of the human failing to become unaware of common everyday activities, or events that appear normal. The best secrets are carried out in broad daylight. The best hoax is to repeat it so often that people are convinced that the next move is also a hoax. When this happens, it is the best moment to carry out one's previously hidden true objective.

In the Second World War, Hitler spread misinformation about a planned date for the Invasion of France, but later delayed the date. This was repeated many times, and eventually France and England grew used to the false information, and regarded all Germany planned invasions as hoaxes. Eventually, Germany invaded France with lightning speed, conquering France.

In the Second World War, the Allies' Operation Quicksilver created a phantom army in Kent complete with faked radio chatter which divided German attentions regarding the actual Allied armies and their intended objective of the Normandy landings.



2.Besiege Wèi to rescue Zhào (simplified Chinese: 围魏救赵; traditional Chinese: 圍魏救趙; pinyin: Wéi Wèi jiù Zhào)
When the enemy is too strong to be attacked directly, then attack something he holds dear. Know that he cannot be superior in all things. Somewhere there is a gap in the armour, a weakness that can be attacked instead.

The origin of this proverb is from the Warring States Period. The state of Wèi attacked Zhao and laid siege to its capital Handan. Zhào turned to Qí for help, but the Qí general Sun Bin determined it would be unwise to meet the army of Wèi head on, so he instead attacked their capital at Daliang. The army of Wèi retreated in haste, and the tired troops were ambushed and defeated at the Battle of Guiling, with the Wèi general Pang Juan slain on the field. Note that this campaign is also described explicitly in the Art of War of Master Sun Bin the younger.

Usage
The idea here is to avoid a head on battle with a strong enemy, and instead strike at his weakness elsewhere. This will force the strong enemy to retreat in order to support his weakness. Battling against the now tired and low-morale enemy will give a much higher chance of success.


In the Second Punic War at the Battle of Zama, Scipio Africanus was able to defeat Hannibal's army in Italy not by facing him in the field but by destroying his power base in Spain and menacing his home city of Carthage



3.Kill with a borrowed knife (simplified Chinese: 借刀杀人; traditional Chinese: 借刀殺人; pinyin: Jiè dāo shā rén)
Attack using the strength of another (in a situation where using one's own strength is not favourable). Trick an ally into attacking him, bribe an official to turn traitor, or use the enemy's own strength against him.

Usage
The idea here is to cause damage to the enemy by getting a 3rd party to do the deed.

During the Three Kingdoms era, Guan Yu, one of the head generals of the Kingdom of Shu, was engaged in the Battle of Fancheng against Cao Cao. Cao Cao sent an advisor to Sun Quan to encourage him to attack and capture Jing Province. Cao Cao promised that all lands south of Yangtze River will be Sun Quan's after this act. Several weeks thereafter, the Kingdom of Wu (Sun Quan), which had secretly allied itself with the Kingdom Wei (Cao Cao), attacked Guan Yu's army at Jiangling. Sun Quan, a previous ally of the Kingdom of Shu, surprised and defeated the Shu forces there, forcing Guan Yu to lift the siege on Fancheng and retreat. During his retreat, Guan Yu was captured by Sun Quan's forces and was executed. This caused great hatred between Liu Bei and Sun Quan, and eventually the hatred led to many battles between the two states. Although Cao Cao did not live to see it, these conflicts eventually allowed the Kingdom of Wei (Cao Cao) to conquer the Kingdom of Shu/Liu Bei and the Kingdom of Wu/Sun Quan, allowing the Kingdom of Wei (Cao Cao) under the leadership of general Sima Yan who later on would overthrow Cao Huan's throne to conquer China and unify it under the rule of the Kingdom of Jin (Sima Yan).

In 1936, Stalin began to second guess his most trusted advisors and generals. Hitler made a list of the most dangerous generals within Russia, and created an underground report regarding them selling Russian information to Germany. Many false mails between them were also made. Russian spies got hold of this detailed list of the Russian generals and the mails they had allegedly sent to Germany. 8 generals were immediately imprisoned. After a 30 minute trial, all of the generals were judged guilty of treason, and all were executed within 12 hours. When Germany and Russia engaged in combat later on, Russia had to fight without some of its best generals.



4.Leisurely await for the laboured (simplified Chinese: 以逸待劳; traditional Chinese: 以逸待勞; pinyin: Yǐ yì dài láo)
It is an advantage to choose the time and place for battle. In this way you know when and where the battle will take place, while your enemy does not. Encourage your enemy to expend his energy in futile quests while you conserve your strength. When he is exhausted and confused, you attack with energy and purpose.

Usage
The idea is to have your troops well-prepared for battle, in the same time that the enemy is rushing to fight against you. This will give your troops a huge advantage in the upcoming battle, of which you will get to select the time and place.

In the Battle of Maling, Wei had both the number and morale advantage over the Qi troops. Sun Bin ordered his Qi troops to retreat, while encouraging the Wei troops to pursue them with haste. The end result was that the Qi forces were well prepared and well located for an ambush, while the Wei forces were tired from the speedy march. The battle was really one sided due to this difference.



5.Loot a burning house (Chinese: 趁火打劫; pinyin: Chèn huǒ dǎ jié)
When a country is beset by internal conflicts, when disease and famine ravage the population, when corruption and crime are rampant, then it will be unable to deal with an outside threat. This is the time to attack.

Usage
Keep gathering internal information about an enemy. If the enemy is currently in its weakest state ever, attack it without mercy and totally destroy it to prevent future troubles.

Before the Battle of Gaixia, both Chu and Han forces were tired from a long lasting siege. After a peace treaty, the tired Chu troops began retreating out of Han territory. Han Xin and Zhang Liang both advised to Liu Bang :"We already control half of the empire. Even within Chu, many governors favour us being the ruler, and will not give Xiang Yu support unless forced to. The Chu troops are currently tired and face serious food stortages. The heavens have decided to end Xiang Yu's power. If we let Xiang Yu escape, it will be like keeping a tiger alive only to kill its owner later. We must strike now and end this threat." After some thinking, Liu Bang gave the order to attack Xiang Yu, and eventually ended Chu.



6.Make a sound in the east, then strike in the west (simplified Chinese: 声东击西; traditional Chinese: 聲東擊西; pinyin: Shēng dōng jí xī)
In any battle the element of surprise can provide an overwhelming advantage. Even when face to face with an enemy, surprise can still be employed by attacking where he least expects it. To do this you must create an expectation in the enemy's mind through the use of a feint.

Usage
The idea here is to get the enemy to focus his forces in a location, and then attack elsewhere which would be weakly defended.

In 1798, Napoleon Bonaparte had planned an invasion of Egypt, but in order for his ground troops to be transported into Egypt, he would have to get through, at the time, a superior British Navy. Napoleon decided to avoid a direct confrontation during the transportation, since a defeat here would cost many lives. Napoleon informed his Mediterranean fleet that they were to join up with the fleet in the north, and attack Ireland. As a result of this news, Horatio Nelson stationed his fleet in the west of the Mediterranean, in order to block the French fleet from moving up north. Napoleon then quickly ordered his Mediterranean fleet to transport ground troops into Egypt. By the time Horatio discovered Napoleon's plans, about three weeks had passed and a large French army had gathered in Egypt. Although the French Mediterranean fleet was eventually destroyed in the Battle of the Nile, Napoleon was able to conquer Egypt with his ground troops.

In the 1991 Gulf War the coalition, through deception, was able to convince the Iraqis that the coalition intended an amphibious attack into Kuwait and was able to fix Iraqi forces in positions that could play no effective part when the real attack came.


Chapter 2: Enemy Dealing Stratagems

7.Create something from nothing (simplified Chinese: 无中生有; traditional Chinese: 無中生有; pinyin: Wú zhōng shēng yǒu)
A plain lie. Make somebody believe there was something when there is in fact nothing.

Usage
One method of using this strategy is to create an illusion of something's existence, while it does not exist. Another method is to create an illusion that something does not exist, while it does.

During the Battle of Fei River, Former Qin had an overwhelming manpower over Jin. But instead of backing down to defend, Jin attacked Former Qin forces early and formed wide formations, giving an illusion that Jin had the manpower to match Former Qin's forces. Fu Jiān began planning his moves in fear, and later on ordered his vast forces to back out from the river banks. The low morale Former Qin troops went into chaos, and Jin came out of the battle victorious.

During the Battles of Yongqiu and Suiyang, the Tang soldiers in Yongqiu were running out of arrows. Zhang Xun ordered about 1,000 scarecrows to be made. At night, soldiers put their own armor onto the scarecrows, and hung them down from the Castle walls. Yan forces saw this and shot many arrows at the scarecrows, since they thought they were Tang soldiers. By the time the Yan forces found out what happened, the Tang troops had already received about 200,000 arrows. When this happened again later, Yan soldiers did not shoot one single arrow at them. But these dark figures were real Tang soldiers, who quickly attacked the sleeping Yan ranks. The vast Yan forces were forced to retreat from their position.

During the Battle of Chi Bi, when Liu Bei retreated his army and left Wu to fight Wei, Shu took most of the allied army's arrows. When Zhuge Liang stayed with Wu to help defeat Cao Cao, he and Lu Su rallied boats with scarecrows that wore Wu armor therefore looked like Wu soldiers. Cai Mao's fleet fired arrows at them and they got more than a hundred thousand arrows.
In advance fee frauds, victims are lured by making them believe there was a large amount of money waiting for them ("Something") while there is in fact "Nothing".



8.Openly repair the gallery roads, but sneak through the passage of Chencang (simplified Chinese: 暗渡陈仓; traditional Chinese: 暗渡陳倉; pinyin: Àn dù chén cāng)
Deceive the enemy with an obvious approach that will take a very long time, while surprising him by taking a shortcut and sneak up to him. As the enemy concentrates on the decoy, he will miss you sneaking up to him.

The phrase originated from the Chu-Han contention, where Liu Bang retreated to the lands of Sichuan to prepare for a confrontation with Xiang Yu. Once he was fully prepared, Liu Bang sent men to openly repair the gallery roads he had destroyed earlier, while secretly moving his troops towards Guanzhong through the small town of Chencang instead. When Xiang Yu received news of Liu Bang repairing the gallery roads, he dismissed the threat since he knew the repairs would take years to complete. This allowed Liu Bang to retake Guanzhong by surprise, and eventually led to his victory over Xiang Yu and the birth of the Han Dynasty.

Usage
This tactic is an extension of the "Make a sound in the east, then strike in the west" tactic. But instead of simply spreading misinformation to draw the enemy's attention, physical baits are used to increase the enemy's certainty on the misinformation. These baits must be easily seen by the enemy, to ensure that they draw the enemy's attention. At the same time, the baits must act as if what they meant to do what they were falsely doing, to avoid drawing the enemy's suspicion.

In 263 during the Three Kingdoms era, Deng Ai was facing off against Jiang Wei in one of the many battles between the two. Jiang Wei's goal was to take one of the Wei fortresses. Deng Ai engaged Jiang Wei's forces and was able to win a few early battles, and Jiang Wei retreated for a short distance before making camp. Deng Ai order his troops to set up defences along a river, since the nearby Jiang Wei forces would certainly return. After 3 days, Jiang Wei's forces did indeed return. But they simply camped and did not prepare to cross the river. Deng Ai sensed that Jiang Wei's main forces had gone around the river to take the fortress directly, so he ordered all forces to retreat back to the fortress to defend. Everything was just as Deng Ai had predicted, and due to his prior preparations, Jiang Wei's siege at the fortress ended in a failure. Jiang Wei had used the tactic wrongly, because his forces at the river did not draw enough enemy attention to cause them to stay at the river.

Prior to the Battle of Normandy, the Allies wanted to draw the Axis attention away from Normandy. An entirely fictitious First U.S. Army Group ("FUSAG"), was created for this purpose. Dummy tanks, trucks, planes and camps were made. They were placed in an area which led Germany to believe that the actual large scale invasion would take place in Pas de Calais. The air defense in this area was at a minimum, to allow Luftwaffe to photograph them easily. Allied naval bombardment was focused on Pas de Calais instead of Normandy. Dummy paratroopers were also used to create further uncertainty on the Germany side regarding the actual location of the invasion. This led the German defense forces into disorder, and allowed the Normandy operation to be carried out with "relative" ease.


9.Watch the fires burning across the river (simplified Chinese: 隔岸观火; traditional Chinese: 隔岸觀火; pinyin: Gé àn guān huǒ)
Delay entering the field of battle until all the other players have become exhausted fighting amongst themselves. Then go in at full strength and pick up the pieces. This has been US foreign policy when it comes to dealing with complex international conflicts, since at least the First World War, and onwards.


10.Hide a knife behind a smile (simplified Chinese: 笑里藏刀; traditional Chinese: 笑裏藏刀; pinyin: Xiào lǐ cáng dāo)
Charm and ingratiate yourself to your enemy. When you have gained his trust, move against him in secret.
Usage Before Jing Ke's attempt to assassinate Qin Shi Huang, he did many things to gain Qin Shi Huang's trust. These included killing Fan Yu Qi.


11.Sacrifice the plum tree to preserve the peach tree (Chinese: 李代桃僵; pinyin: Lǐ dài táo jiāng)
There are circumstances in which you must sacrifice short-term objectives in order to gain the long-term goal. This is the scapegoat strategy whereby someone else suffers the consequences so that the rest do not.

Cao Cao of the Three Kingdoms Period demonstrated this strategy. During a siege, Cao's supplies ran low so he called in the supply captain and told him to dilute the rice with water to save grains. When the soldiers started to complain, Cao ordered for the captain to be killed. He would explain to his troops that the captain had been selling supplies to the enemy. This raised the army's morale and they were victorious in a few more days.


12.Take the opportunity to pilfer a goat (simplified Chinese: 顺手牵羊; traditional Chinese: 順手牽羊; pinyin: Shùn shǒu qiān yáng)
While carrying out your plans be flexible enough to take advantage of any opportunity that presents itself, however small, and avail yourself of any profit, however slight.


Chapter 3: Attacking Stratagems

13.Stomp the grass to scare the snake (simplified Chinese: 打草惊蛇; traditional Chinese: 打草驚蛇; pinyin: Dá cǎo jīng shé)

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.


14.Borrow a corpse to resurrect the soul (simplified Chinese: 借尸还魂; traditional Chinese: 借屍還魂; pinyin: Jiè shī huán hún)
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.

At the end of the Medieval period when nation-states would field conscripted armies armed with firearms, personal body armour fell out of fashion for field infantry. The 1800s saw the early development of the ballistic vest but it did not become standard issue for modern armies until the 1990s.

15.Entice the tiger to leave its mountain lair (simplified Chinese: 调虎离山; traditional Chinese: 調虎離山; pinyin: Diào hǔ lí shān)
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.

At the Battle of Hastings, the Normans were initially unable to break the Saxon shield wall placed at the top of a hill, however by feigning retreat they were able to entice some of the Saxons to break ranks and opened a gap that allowed them to scatter the Saxon army.

16.In order to capture, one must let loose (simplified Chinese: 欲擒故纵; traditional Chinese: 欲擒故縱; pinyin: Yù qín gū zòng)
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.

17.Tossing out a brick to get a jade gem (simplified Chinese: 抛砖引玉; traditional Chinese: 拋磚引玉; pinyin: Pāo zhuān yǐn yù)
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").

This proverb is based on a story involving two famous poets of the Tang Dynasty. There was a great poet named Zhao Gu (趙嘏) and another lesser poet by the name of Chang Jian (常建). While Chang Jian was traveling in Suzhou, he heard news that Zhao Gu would be visiting a temple in the area. Chang Jian wished to learn from the master poet, so he devised a plan and went to the temple in advance, then wrote a poem on the temple walls with only two of the four lines completed, hoping Zhao Gu would see it and finish the poem. Zhao Gu acted as Chang Jian foresaw, and from this story came the proverb.

Casino operators use such schemes to attract potential gamblers into their casinos, by offering little rewards such as free buffet or a complimentary hotel room. In the end, the casinos usually gain back much more than what they initially gave away, in the forms of gambling losses by the gamblers during their stays.

18.Defeat the enemy by capturing their chief (simplified Chinese: 擒贼擒王; traditional Chinese: 擒賊擒王; pinyin: Qín zéi qín wáng)
If the enemy's army is strong but is allied to the commander only by money 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.


Usage
During the Battle of Gaugamela, Alexander the Great focused his attack against Darius III of Persia's location. Darius fled out of fear and the Persian army fell into chaos.



Chapter 4: Chaos Stratagems

19.Remove the firewood from under the pot (Chinese: 釜底抽薪; pinyin: Fǔ dǐ chōu xīn)
Take out the leading argument or asset of someone; "steal someone's thunder".

20.Catch a fish while the water is disturbed (simplified Chinese: 混水摸鱼; traditional Chinese: 混水摸魚; pinyin: Hún shuǐ mō yú)
Create confusion and use this confusion to further your own goals.

21.Slough off the cicada's golden shell (simplified Chinese: 金蝉脱壳; traditional Chinese: 金蟬脱殼; pinyin: Jīn chán tuō qiào)
It's a strategy mainly used to escape from enemy of a more superior force. One use this strategy by slough off one's shell, which tricked the enemy to believe to have grasped one's essential. Mask yourself. Either leave flamboyant traits behind, thus going incognito; or just masquerade yourself and create an illusion to fit your goals and distract others.

With the Battle of Gallipoli evacuation the British and Anzac forces were able to retreat without being routed by creating the illusion that their trenches remained occupied.

In the Biblical story of the judge, Gideon in the Book of Judges, the smaller Israelite army, led by Gideon, was able to defeat the larger Midianite army by first carrying torches and trumpets, thus appearing as the torch bearers of a much larger force that had surrounded the Midianite encampment.

22.Shut the door to catch the thief (simplified Chinese: 关门捉贼; traditional Chinese: 關門捉賊; pinyin: Guān mén zhōu zéi)
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.

23.Befriend a distant state while attacking a neighbour (simplified Chinese: 远交近攻; traditional Chinese: 遠交近攻; pinyin: Yuǎn jiāo jìn gōng)
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.

Otto von Bismarck made the League of the Three Emperors and treaties with the British Empire and Italy in order to isolate France, from which he feared an attack.

24.Obtain safe passage to conquer the State of Guo (Chinese: 假道伐虢; pinyin: Jiǎ dào fá Guó)
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.

The Peninsular War started when Napoleon attempted to conquer Spain by stealth, under the guise of friendship and forming an alliance against Britain and Portugal.



Chapter 5: Proximate Stratagems

25.Replace the beams with rotten timbers (simplified Chinese: 偷梁换柱; traditional Chinese: 偷梁換柱; pinyin: Tōu liáng huàn zhù)
Disrupt the enemy's formations, interfere with their methods of operations, change the rules in which they are used to follow, go contrary to their standard training. In this way you remove the supporting pillar, the common link that makes a group of men an effective fighting force.

26.Point at the mulberry tree while cursing the locust tree (simplified Chinese: 指桑骂槐; traditional Chinese: 指桑罵槐; pinyin: Zhǐ sāng mà huái)
To discipline, control, or warn others whose status or position excludes them from direct confrontation; use analogy and innuendo. Without directly naming names, those accused cannot retaliate without revealing their complicity.

27.Feign madness but keep your balance (simplified Chinese: 假痴不癫; traditional Chinese: 假痴不癲; pinyin: Jiǎ chī bù diān)
Hide behind the mask of a fool, a drunk, or a madman to create confusion about your intentions and motivations. Lure your opponent into underestimating your ability until, overconfident, he drops his guard. Then you may attack.

Lucius Junius Brutus feigned idiocy for many years while he secretly prepared to depose Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, the last King of Rome.

The Forty-seven Ronin used this strategy to take revenge for their master. They waited over a year and when the opponent let his guard down, they took their revenge.

28.Remove the ladder when the enemy has ascended to the roof (Chinese: 上屋抽梯; pinyin: Shàng wū chōu tī)
With baits and deceptions, lure your enemy into treacherous terrain. Then cut off his lines of communication and avenue of escape. To save himself, he must fight both your own forces and the elements of nature.

The Grande Armee was destroyed in the 1812 invasion of Russia by a combination of the Russian winter, a scorched earth strategy, and the Russian army. Napoleon had been spurred on by the prize of capturing Moscow and with it the defeat of Russia; however, all he found was a burnt out and empty city and his forces cut off in hostile terrain and weather with no supplies.

29.Deck the tree with false blossoms (simplified Chinese: 树上开花; traditional Chinese: 樹上開花; pinyin: Shù shàng kāi huā)
Tying silk blossoms on a dead tree gives the illusion that the tree is healthy. ThCéi zhǔ)
Usurp leadership in a situation where you are normally subordinate. Infiltrate your target. Initially, pretend to be a guest to be accepted, but develop from inside and become the owner later.



Chapter 6: Defeat Stratagems

31.The beauty trap (honey trap) (simplified Chinese: 美人计; traditional Chinese: 美人計; pinyin: Měi rén jì)
Send your enemy beautiful women to cause discord within his camp. This strategy can work on three levels. First, the ruler becomes so enamoured with the beauty that he neglects his duties and allows his vigilance to wane. Second, other males at court will begin to display aggressive behaviour that inflames minor differences hindering co-operation and destroying morale. Third, other females at court, motivated by jealousy and envy, begin to plot intrigues further exacerbating the situation.

Even though this has been done many times, perhaps the most famous historical example is Xi Shi who was sent to the State of Wu during the Spring and Autumn Period.

32.The empty fort strategy (simplified Chinese: 空城计; traditional Chinese: 空城計; pinyin: Kōng chéng jì)
When the enemy is superior in numbers and your situation is such that you expect to be overrun at any moment, then drop all presence of military preparedness, act calmly and appear disrespect of the enemy, so that the enemy will think you have hidden huge power and you want to trap them into the fort with your calm and easiness. This has to be used when in most of the cases, you do have huge power hidden under the disguise and you only play the real empty rarely. Use this against people who are really smart[4].

33.Let the enemy's own spy sow discord in the enemy camp (simplified Chinese: 反间计; traditional Chinese: 反間計; pinyin: Fǎn jiàn jì)
Undermine your enemy's ability to fight by secretly causing discord between him and his friends, allies, advisors, family, commanders, soldiers, and population. While he is preoccupied settling internal disputes, his ability to attack or defend, is compromised.

During the Second World War the German intelligence agency the Abwehr under Wilhelm Canaris actively colluded with the Allies to undermine the Nazi regime.


34.Inflict injury on one's self to win the enemy's trust (simplified Chinese: 苦肉计; traditional Chinese: 苦肉計; pinyin: Kǔ ròu jì)
Pretending to be injured has two possible applications. In the first, the enemy is lulled into relaxing his guard since he no longer considers you to be an immediate threat. The second is a way of ingratiating yourself to your enemy by pretending the injury was caused by a mutual enemy.

This strategy was perhaps best demonstrated during the Spring and Autumn Period. After his defeat by King Fuchai of Wu, King Goujian of Yue pretended to go to Wu to become a servant of Fuchai. After gaining Fuchai's trust, Guo Jian was allowed back to Yue. There he strengthened his military and in 482 BC while Fuchai was trying to gain hegemony, he attacked and conquered the capital. Some years later in 478 BC, he annexed Wu and forced Fuchai to commit suicide.


35.Chain stratagems (simplified Chinese: 连环计; traditional Chinese: 連環計; pinyin: Lián huán jì)
In important matters, one should use several stratagems applied simultaneously after another as in a chain of stratagems. Keep different plans operating in an overall scheme; however, in this manner if any one strategy fails, then the chain breaks and the whole scheme fails.


36.If everything else fails, retreat (simplified Chinese: 走为上; traditional Chinese: 走為上; pinyin: Zǒu wéi shàng)
If it becomes obvious that your current course of action will lead to defeat, then retreat and regroup. When your side is losing, there are only three choices remaining: surrender, compromise, or escape. Surrender is complete defeat, compromise is half defeat, but escape is not defeat. As long as you are not defeated, you still have a chance.

This is the most famous of the stratagems, immortalized in the form of a Chinese idiom: "Of the Thirty-Six Stratagems, fleeing is best." (三十六計，走為上策)


References
1.^ "Original Text of the Biography of Wáng Jìngzé, Book of Qi (Traditional Chinese)". http://www.hoolulu.com/zh/25shi/07nanqishu/t-026.htm. Retrieved 2006-11-27.
2.^ a b "Introduction to the Thirty-Six Strategies (Traditional Chinese)". http://www.millionbook.net/xd/m/mananchun/ysyh/145.htm. Retrieved 2006-11-27.
3.^ a b c "Exploring the Thirty-Six Strategies (Simplified Chinese)". Chinese Strategic Science Network. 2006-07-11. http://www.szbf.net/Article_Show.asp?ArticleID=1490.
4.^ "Empty City Stratagem" (in English). BeijingTouree.com. http://www.beijingtouree.com/index.php/chinese-culture/history-beijing/40-history/303-the-empty-city-stratagem. Retrieved 2008-09-29.

Lack Of Sleep Can Kill

I received an article with the above subject title.
My first reaction was ... "Of course ! ... lack of sleep can lead to tiredness & if you're not careful while driving, chances are you'll end up with a fatal accident.

But when I really read through the article ... it's from a different angle altogether. Below is the excerpt (in Italics) :


A month ago, many of us heard about the sad demise of Ranjan Das from Bandra, Mumbai. Ranjan, just 42 years of age, was the CEO of SAP-Indian Subcontinent, the youngest CEO of an MNC in India. He was very active in sports, was a fitness freak and a marathon runner. It was common to see him run on Bandra's Carter Road. Just after Diwali, on 21st Oct, he returned home from his gym after a workout, collapsed with a massive heart attack and died. He is survived by his wife and two very young kids.

It was certainly a wake-up call for corporate India. However, it was even more disastrous for runners amongst us. Since Ranjan was an avid marathoner ( in Feb 09, he ran Chennai Marathon at the same time some of us were running Pondicherry Marathon 180 km away ), the question came as to why an exceptionally active, athletic person succumb to heart attack at 42 years of age.


Was it the stress?


A couple of you called me asking about the reasons. While Ranjan had mentioned that he faced a lot of stress, that is a common element in most of our lives. We used to think that by being fit, one can conquer the bad effects of stress. So I doubted if the cause was stress.


The Real Reason

However, everyone missed out a small line in the reports that Ranjan used to make do with 4-5 hours of sleep. This is an earlier interview of Ranjan on NDTV in the program 'Boss' Day Out': Boss' Day Out: Ranjan Das of SAP India.

Here he himself admits that he would love to get more sleep ( and that he was not proud of his ability to manage without sleep, contrary to what others extolled ).


The Evidence

Last week, I was working with a well-known cardiologist on the subject of ‘Heart Disease caused by Lack of Sleep’. While I cannot share the video nor the slides because of confidentiality reasons, I have distilled the key points below in the hope it will save some of our lives.


Some Excerpts:

· Short sleep duration ( <5 or 5-6 hours ) increased risk for high BP by 350% to 500% compared to those who slept longer than 6 hours per night. Paper published in 2009. As you know, high BP kills.

· Young people ( 25-49 years of age ) are twice as likely to get high BP if they sleep less. Paper published in 2006.

· Individuals who slept less than 5 hours a night had a 3-fold increased risk of heart attacks. Paper published in 1999.

· Complete and partial lack of sleep increased the blood concentrations of High sensitivity C-Reactive Protein (hs-cRP), the strongest predictor of heart attacks. Even after getting adequate sleep later, the levels stayed high!!

· Just one night of sleep loss increases very toxic substances in body such as Interleukin-6 (IL-6), Tumour Necrosis Factor-Alpha (TNF-alpha) and C-reactive protein (cRP). They increase risks of many medical conditions, including cancer, arthritis and heart disease. Paper published in 2004.

· Sleeping for <=5 hours per night leads to 39% increase in heart disease. Sleeping for <=6 hours per night leads to 18% increase in heart disease. Paper published in 2006.


Ideal Sleep

For lack of space, I cannot explain here the ideal sleep architecture. But in brief, sleep is composed of two stages: REM ( Rapid Eye Movement ) and non-REM. The former helps in mental consolidation while the latter helps in physical repair and rebuilding. During the night, you alternate between REM and non-REM stages 4-5 times.

The earlier part of sleep is mostly non-REM. During that period, your pituitary gland releases growth hormones that repair your body. The latter part of sleep is more and more REM type.

For you to be mentally alert during the day, the latter part of sleep is more important. No wonder when you wake up with an alarm clock after 5-6 hours of sleep, you are mentally irritable throughout the day (lack of REM sleep). And if you have slept for less than 5 hours, your body is in a complete physical mess ( lack of non-REM sleep ), you are tired throughout the day, moving like a zombie and your immunity is way down ( I’ve been there, done that ).

Finally, as long-distance runners, you need an hour of extra sleep to repair the running related damage.

If you want to know if you are getting adequate sleep, take Epworth Sleepiness Test below.

Interpretation: Score of 0-9 is considered normal while 10 and above abnormal. Many a times, I have clocked 21 out the maximum possible 24, the only saving grace being the last situation, since I don’t like to drive (maybe, I should ask my driver to answer that line).

In conclusion:

Barring stress control, Ranjan Das did everything right: eating proper food, exercising ( marathoning! ), maintaining proper weight. But he missed getting proper and adequate sleep, minimum 7 hours. In my opinion, that killed him.
If you are not getting enough sleep ( 7 hours ), you are playing with fire, even if you have low stress.

I always took pride in my ability to work 50 hours at a stretch whenever the situation warranted. But I was so spooked after seeing the scientific evidence last week that since Saturday night, I ensure I do not even set the alarm clock under 7 hours. Now, that is a nice excuse to get some more sleep.

Unfortunately, Ranjan Das is not alone when it comes to missing sleep. Many of us are doing exactly the same, perhaps out of ignorance. Please forward this mail/article to as many of your colleagues/friends as possible, especially those who might be short-changing their sleep. If we can save even one young life because of this email, I would be the happiest person on earth.

Sprechen sie Engrish ?

Date : July 8th, 2009

Speaking English ... anyone ?
I knew all along that the standard of English in the country has deteriorated somewhat since the late 70s.
But I was really "shocked & awed" by its level, after reading this article below (which I "copied" from Malaysia Today's homepage).

Why English should not be taught in Bahasa Malaysia

There is currently a brouhaha going on about the proposed teaching of Science and Maths in English. Some would like these two subjects to be taught in Bahasa Malaysia. I am not too concerned about Science and Maths. I am more worried about English. I feel English should no longer be taught in Bahasa Malaysia.

NO HOLDS BARRED Raja Petra Kamarudin

And why do I think that English should not be taught in Bahasa Malaysia? Well, maybe this circular from one of Malaysia’s leading universities would explain everything.

*************************************************
4th UiTM INTERNATIONAL SPORTS FIESTA19 – 23 November 2009 FUTSAL-RUGBY 7- TENPIN BOWLING-BADMINTON

Dear Sport Friends,

Regarding about the global issue H1N1 happens around the world, sadly to be informing that our UiTM International Sports Fiesta will be postponing to 19-23 November 2009.

For all teams which have been confirm to participate in our events, we have to say sorry for this announcements and our Ministry of Higher Education and Ministry of Health also advise to us to change the date for this current situation.

By the date have been confirm incoming this November hopefully your teams still can participate in our event and don’t hesitate to contact us for further information.And again, we would like to say sorry about the date change for the sake of our health among us.

See you in this November at UiTM Malaysia!!

Regards,
Mr. Mustaza Ahmad
DirectorSports Centre
Universiti Teknologi MARA Malaysia (UiTM)
=============================================================

Well, I was laughing out loud initially but on 2nd thought, this is really sad. And to think that my children will go through all this crap ... (sigh) .... it's really sickening. Guess I really need to plan out for their education.

Anyway, on the lighter side, below is another "joke" from a commentor to the article above.
Hope you have a good laugh but on the flip side, think about your children's education too.

=========================================================
Hilarious, allow me to share a joke I received by email (author unknown) that also illustrates the point "Why English should not be taught in Bahasa Malaysia" or for that matter "Why Bahasa Malaysia should not be taught in English"

Breaking up letter.
Timah wanted to break up with her Caucasian boyfriend so she wrote him a letter

Hi, My motive write dis letter to giv know u something. I want to CUT CONNECTION us. I saw u PLAY WOOD THREE in front my eyes. So, I break connection to PULL MY BODY from dis luv. I hav think about dis very COOK-COOK. I know I CLAP 1 HAND only. I don trust u again! U are really CROCDILE LAND! I don want u to PLAY-PLAY with my LIVER. I hav been crying until no more eye water. I don want BANANA TO FRUIT 2 TIMES. SAFE WALK!

The true,
Timah

Translation of CAPS / Underlined texts :

CUT CONNECTION - PUTUS HUBUNGAN
PLAY WOOD THREE - MAIN KAYU TIGA
PULL MY BODY - TARIK DIRI
COOK-COOK - MASAK-MASAK
CLAP 1 HAND - TEPUK SEBELAH TANGAN
CROCDILE LAND - BUAYA DARAT
BANANA TO FRUIT 2 TIMES - PISANG MASAK 2 KALI
SAFE WALK - SELAMAT JALAN
The True - Yang Benar

We all can forgive Timah I suppose, but I am shocked at the way Mustaza Ahmad (a sports center Director) writes, and he signs of the letter as Mr.Mustaza Ahmad, who the heck signs of as "Mr" ? I wonder if he goes around introducing himself " Hello , I am Mister Ahmad".

Vijay Kumar Murugavell


Have a good weekend ahead.
Cheers.

Scams in Malaysia

Date : Jun 10th, 2009

Top 17 Scams in Malaysia

Someone sent me this article ..... found it interesting & would be good to share.

I've heard of some of this but didn't know that some of the more well-known ones are actually scams.

I welcome feedback/comments if any readers has really experienced it.

1) The Cafe Scams - Island Red Cafe & Stevens Corner (strange, both in Pandan Indah) - Island Red Cafe collects members RM6,000 each and promised 5% return every month and even give you a name in the ROC as a shareholder but what’s the point when they run away ? Stevens Corner, the famous Indian coffee shop follows due to drop of business since their renovation. They collect RM3,000 per member and promise return of RM150 monthly and plans to open nice fanchisee cafe called StevensTeaGarden. Someone mentioned they will make you sign an agreement that give them the rights NOT to pay you anything in future. If you really wish to join, ask for a copy of their agreement and consult your lawyer BEFORE paying them. Bet you will NOT get a copy. Both collect monies from new members with MLM recruitment schemes and pay the old members like Sunshine Empire. You never know when they will run away.

2) Sunshine Empire - This licensed and legal Company has an impressive office at the ground level of KUB building along Jalan Yap Kwan Seng, near Menara Public Bank and AmBank Building. They also have a showroom office at the ground level in the next building. 2 or 3 months ago, Singapore’s Straits Times and The Paper published big news reminding their people to be careful and NOT to believe in them. Hope someone can put up the link or google for it. As expected, they STOPPED paying back members now and all investors LOST their money.

Someone below has put a link to the Singapore news. In fact there are more to it. Although Singapore is investigating them, they did not stop their business as the business is legal and so far, no Singaporean have failed to receive their commissions as promised. Thus, the government cannot stop them yet.

The news published that the founder, director and group president is someone named James Phang but he is NOT the owner. Isn’t this quite strange ? At the end of the game, James Phang can just disappear from the Company easily and claimed that he was just “employed”. Such trick always happened in scam businesses.

Now, the Company has STOPPED paying commissions and interests to members with the excuse that the Singapore government has freezed their bank account while under investigation. Do you think their boss will be so stupid to keep much monies in the bank to be freezed ? They are all transfered away. It’s just an excuses not to pay back to members and members are only paid “e-bonus-points” which is cashless. If they wish to convert to cash, they have to recruit new members to pay them cash and the recruiter less out trom the amount. So victims act like Vampires and “forced” to victimise other victims if they wish to get their monies back. And their victims will later transform to vampires and the scam carries on…..

3) MOBILEWALLET - This Company is owned by 2 young men, Stanley & Rey Gan, office in Queens Avenue Park has collect multi-millions the last 2 years. Claimed that they tied up with Telekoms, Utility Board payment like Water & Electricity bills, even Maybank got fooled by them. Advertisement Billboards everywhere. They STOPPED paying back their members few months ago and the members cannot do anything because they are made to sign an agreement unaware that they have to claims if the company stopped paying them by CHANGING terms and policies.

4) Water businesses - Oxygenated and alkaline water products - Some of these are bottled water and some are filters or equipment that claimed the trick. One of the better known Company that sold “oxygen” water is SITO(supposed to stand for Selangor International Trading Organiszation and claimed Selangor State Government owned some share in it). The key person and founder is a Dato Robert Ong from Rawang but his name is no longer in the business now. Their products are sold for RM2 to RM3 for a 350ml bottle and now concentrating mostly in the Indian market. Their Chinese and Malays market are long gone since a year or 2 ago. Their customers are made to believe that their water has more oxygen and able to give miraculous effects for the body. Water is H2O, how to put more O into it ? Anyone knows how much oxygen do we breathe into our body everyday at FOC ? Latest news is that this SITO Company is going to create new label to market under a new Company since the SITO name has already gone bad. Someone informed that this Company is owing alot of money(due to refunds) to ex-stockists but just refuse to pay them.(Latest news, SITO shifted to another place and their MLM business has closed but planning to start again with a different name, beware !!)
Alkaline Products - Can anyone explain how it can work for the body ? The stomach’s gastric liquid is so acidic that water of any pH that goes through it will not make any difference.

5) Car Fuel Booster - K-Link, the famous scam MLM Company that sold the footpatch TAKARA, later the “cock-ring” and energy-card launched the petrol-saving pills last year. Got so hot that even grocery shops are selling for them. Recently many of these cars that used the pills are rushing to the workshops to clean the residual. Few months ago, another MLM Company launched a fuel booster gadget, claimed that saves up to 20% fuel, that is attached to the cigarette lighter. Started off well using binary plan but businese begin to fade now and most users find it NOT effective.

6) Perfumery Products (eg. Lampe Berger & Bel Air). Lampe Berger is not so hot now in the neighbouring countries but there are still new victims every month in Malaysia. Must thank those who have contributed and kept the thread alive here in Kopitiam. Bel-Air have closed in Malaysia. LB is almost zero in Singapore. This perfumery product from France with over 100 years history is just bottles and fragrance (check the factory’s website) but the Company marketing them in Asia claimed “aromatheraphy” products. Hong Kong TVB aired a program that exposed their scam but their members claimed that HK’s TVB already apologised to them. Note that the biggest strength in a MLM Scam is their members will go all way out to lie in order to defend for their Company. The reason is simple; these members fear that they will not be able to make their money back if the Company collapsed. Knowing that the Lampe Berger products are moving slow, they add a line of skincare products named Estebel, also claime to have over 100 years history in France.(Hardly anymore Chinese newcomers, they are now tapping the Malays in Malaysia).

7) Energy Products (eg. stone pendants, bracelets, mattress and pillows). They use all sorts of gimmicks and demonstration to make you into believing them. They will do some tricks and demo to prove that these products really produce energy BUT is there any tricks in their demo ? So what if they really produce energy ; is it good or strong enough to help the body ?

8) Hi-Tech products (names like bio-tech, nano-tech that claimed millions of dollars of research involved, eg Bio-Young and XKL few years ago). Most of these will claimed a professor behind them(even with name and picture of a person) or used words like “U.S.A. formula”, “German Technology” or “Nanotechnology” and without further details. If you ask for more details like the professor or factory’s address, the answer will be “trade secrets”.

9) Investment Schemes - SWISSCASH is the King of all. Swisscash is nearly over now but there are many similar and smaller ones that are still on. Now, it’s closed by Security Commissions (SC).

10) GoldQuest - This Company that claimed to be HK-based started with some non-value gold-plated coins that are sold for over RM2,000 have several names and changed products several times. QuestVacation, QuestNet, etc. They have several offices in Amcorp Mall, PJ and their key person (in fact, the owner), a Malaysian Indian was arrested last year in Indonesia for having involved in a very big Phillipines scam. Most of their overseas offices are closed or inactive but their Malaysia business is still hot, with some “energy” products

11) Numerology & Fortune telling - A Company named Visiber is using MLM to sell fortune telling classes using your birthday based on Numerology fortune telling. Prospects will be told that they need to buy a certain “number” between 1 to 9 in the form of pendants or bracelets made of stainless steel and sold from RM600 to RM20,000. Customers, or rather victims are mostly females from rural areas. Very hot in Penang now and a number of spin-off Companies have started.

12) MJ-Life - This Company boost of a very big background with many many years of history which is NOT true. Their people or associates may be long in business but nothing to do with their MLM launched recently. Why do I consider it a scam or bad ? New members are told to pay a sum of money (up to RM1,000) and you get NOTHING for it. You only get a membership that entitle you to enjoy all sorts of special price and discounts when you have medical check-ups in their centres. They will claim all those check-ups cost more if done elsewhere. It’s not true. Only the naive and those new to medical check-ups will fall victims to them. Most members who paid the money ended up with nothing.

13) Seaweed Venture Scams - One such Company is located in Taman Maluri, Cheras. They will ask you to invest a few thousands ringgits for their venture of growing seaweeds in East Malaysia and you are guaranteed returns. To gain your confidence further, they will tell you your investment money is secured by “insurance” or “unit trusts” & “trustees”. When you ask for further documents to prove, they will give all sorts of excuses or just ignore you because they know they cannot get you. These Seaweed scam is one of the hottest now, warn all your friends about it before they are victimised.

14) MXM(previously MGM) - This is a master scam among the younger group, very successful 2 or 3 years ago but since there moved to their big 10-storey office at Phileo Damansara and changed name to MXM, their business dropped. They collect members RM3,000 to RM4,000 with credit card monthly easy payment and in return you get a hospital benefits insurance from Pacific Insurance worth only a few hundred RMs together with some you-don’t-need medical check-ups from their associate Company Pathlab. Also talk about fitness, lifestyles bullshit that is all worthless.

15) Gano Excel - This company from the north, a copycat of DXN selling Lingzhi capsules created a new Company called Gano iTouch to cash-in on the internet like e-Cosway after their Company went down the drain since the last 2 years, selling Lingzhi and some no-value energy pendants and alkaline water gadgets. They provide free transport every weekend from KL to visit their Alor Star office.

16) NuLife (HK) - This Company was started by some HK people who has been in Malaysia for more than 10 years but they have flopped in HK and Malaysia due to bad management and a product scam making use of a prosecuted American named Dr Jeffrey Bland, found guilty of false products claim. Since this case in the US leaked out and many Malaysians found out that the real boss in HK is a Steven Tang (he cheated many Malaysians in another scheme about 20 years ago) their business went down all the way. Now they claim Malaysian partners cheated them and start a new Company in Malaysia. Watch out, this new Company will come out with some investment scheme idea that will get many to lose their money.

17) Arowana Fish Breeding, Oora from Germany, Biofuel(Kompleks Maluri) etc - These are some newer scams. Arowana fish venture ask you to invest some money and give you fixed return. Biofuel will tell you their Indonesia connections (just like Sunshine Empire before using Taiwan) & Oora from Germany (I never trust those cruel Germans) that market some bio-chips and a gadget that claims to give energy and therapeutic effects of accupunture, tai-chi, yoga, etc depending how you set the toy-like gadget, wear it on your body and you get the effect later. They could not explain or provide any demonstration to prove their effectiveness. Only doctors and papers claim that I will never trust.

Battle of Red Cliffs ( 赤 壁 之 战 )

Date : Mar 24th, 2009

Arguably the biggest Chinese-themed blockbuster movie this year is Chibi II (赤 壁 - 决战天下). Part 2 was recently shown during the Chinese New Year in end Jan, 2009. As this was a historical based movie, I was doing some simple research into some background that preludes the famous Battle of Chibi.

At the point of my writing, I have yet to watch Part 2. I am eagerly waiting for the scene on the fire attack on Cao Cao’s chained battleships.

Anyway, let’s see what had happened that builds up to this famous battle in the era of Three Kingdoms. We start off by understanding the situation that led to the division or the disintegration of the preceding dynasty, the Han.

The Han Dynasty (漢朝) 206 BC–220 AD) followed the Qin Dynasty and preceded the Three Kingdoms in China. The Han Dynasty was ruled by the family known as the Liu clan who had peasant origins. The reign of the Han Dynasty, lasting over 400 years, is commonly considered within China to be one of the greatest periods in the history of China. To this day, the ethnic majority of China still refer to themselves as the "Han people" (汉人).

During the Han Dynasty, China officially became a Confucian state and prospered domestically: agriculture, handicrafts and commerce flourished, and the population reached over 56 million people. Paper was invented during this period. The ideas of acupuncture and feng shui were promulgated during this time. Meanwhile, the empire extended its political, cultural influence, and territory over much of Korea, Mongolia, Vietnam, and Central Asia before it finally collapsed under a combination of domestic and external pressures.

Emergence of Han

Within the first twenty-seven months after Qin Dynasty Emperor Qin Shi Huang's (秦始皇) death at Shaqiu (沙球), widespread revolts by peasants, prisoners, soldiers and descendants of the nobles of the six Warring States sprang up all over China. Chen Sheng (陈胜) and Wu Guang (吴广) two in a group of about 900 soldiers assigned to defend against the Xiongnu (匈奴族) they were the leaders of the first rebellion.

Continuous insurgence finally toppled the Qin dynasty in 206 BC. The leader of the insurgents was Xiang Yu (项羽), an outstanding military commander without political expertise, who divided the country into 19 feudal states to his own satisfaction.

The ensuing war among those states signified the five years of Chu- Han Wars (楚汉之战) with Liu Bang (刘帮) the first emperor of the Han Dynasty, as the eventual winner with the help of Zhang Liang (张良) and Han Xin (韩信).

Initially, "Han" (the principality as created by Xiang Yu's division) consisted merely of modern Sichuan, Chongqing, and southern Shaanxi and was a minor humble principality, but eventually grew into an empire; the Han Dynasty was named after the principality, which was itself named after Hanzhong (漢中) - modern southern Shaanxi, the region centering the modern city of Hanzhong.

The beginning of the Han Dynasty can be dated either from 206 BC when the Qin dynasty crumbled and the Principality of Han was established or 202 BC when Xiang Yu committed suicide. See Fig. 1 for the area ruled under the Han Dynasty.

The Collapse of Han and the Rise of Cao Cao

The series of events leading to the collapse of dynastic power and the rise of Cáo Cāo are extremely complex. The death of Emperor Ling in May 189 led to an unstable regency under General-in-chief He Jin and renewed rivalry between the factions of the eunuchs and regular civil bureaucracy. Following the assassination of He Jin, his chief ally the Colonel-Lieutenant of Retainers Yuan Shao (袁绍) led a massacre of the eunuchs in the imperial palaces in Luoyang (洛阳).

This event prompted the invitation of frontier general Dong Zhuo (董卓) to enter Luoyang from the northwest boundary of China. At the time China faced the powerful barbarians of Qiang tribe to the northwest, and thus Dong Zhuo controlled a large army with elite training. When he brought the army to Luoyang, he was able to easily overpower the existing armies of both sides and took control of the imperial court, ushering in a period of civil war across China.

Dong Zhuo then manipulated the succession so that the future Emperor Xian could take the throne in lieu of his elder half-brother. Dong Zhuo, while ambitious, genuinely wished for a more capable emperor. Dong Zhuo, confident in his success, was in return, slained by his own adopted son, Lü Bu (吕布). Lü Bu was then, attacked by Dong Zhuo's supporters. Lu fled to Zhang Yang, a northern warlord, and remained with him for a time before briefly joining Yuan Shao, but it was clear that Lü Bu was far too independent to serve another.

In August 195, Emperor Xian fled Chang'an (长安 – the capital city) due to revolt instability and made a year long hazardous journey eastwards. By 196, he was received by Cao Cao at Luoyang. This is an extremely important move for Cao Cao with the suggestion from his primary advisor, Xun Yu, commenting that by supporting the authentic Emperor, Cao Cao would have the formal legal authority to control the other warlords and force them to comply in order to restore the Han dynasty. At this point, Cao Cao became the Prime Minister of the Han court and also the de-facto ruler.

Brief Introduction of the Three Kingdoms

The Three Kingdoms period (三國) is a period in the history of China, part of an era of disunity called the Six Dynasties following immediately the loss of de facto power of the Han Dynasty emperors. In a strict academic sense it refers to the period between the foundation of the Wei in 220 and the conquest of the Wu by the Jin Dynasty in 280. However, many Chinese historians and laymen extend the starting point of this period back to the uprising of the Yellow Turbans in 184.

The three kingdoms were Wèi (魏), Shu (蜀), and Wú (吳). To help further distinguish these states from other historical Chinese states of the same name, historians add a relevant character: Wei is also known as Cáo Wèi (曹魏), Shu is also known as Shǔ Hàn (蜀漢), and Wu is also known as Dōng Wú or Eastern Wu (東吳). The term Three Kingdoms itself is somewhat of a mistranslation, since each state was eventually headed not by kings, but by an emperor who claimed legitimate succession from the Han Dynasty. Although the translation Three Empires is more contextually accurate, the term Three Kingdoms has become standard among sinologists.

The earlier, "unofficial" part of the period, from 190 to 220, was marked by chaotic infighting between warlords in various parts of China. The middle part of the period, from 220 and 263, was marked by a more militarily stable arrangement between three rival states, Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu. The later part of this period was marked by the collapse of the tripartite situation: first the destruction of Shu by Wei (263), then the overthrow of Wei by the Jin Dynasty (265), and the destruction of Wu by Jin (280).

Although relatively short, this historical period has been greatly romanticised in the cultures of China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam. It has been celebrated and popularised in operas, folk stories, novels and in more recent times, films, television serials, and video games. The best known of these is undoubtedly the Romance of the Three Kingdoms (三国演义) a fictional account of the period which draws heavily on history.



Battle of Red Cliffs ( 赤 壁 之 战 )

During the confrontation of the Three Kingdoms (三国) in China , Battle of Red Cliffs (赤壁之战) acted as a decisive battle, which took place in the winter of 208 between the allied forces of the southern warlords (Liu Bei, 刘备 & Sun Quan 孙权) , and the northern warlord, Cao Cao (曹操) .

Liu and Sun successfully frustrated Cao's effort to conquer the land south of the Yangtze River and reunify China . Despite being one of the most famous battles of Chinese history, descriptions of the battle differ widely on details ; in fact, even the place of battle is still fiercely debated.

By 208, the Duke of Wei (魏), Cao Cao had controlled all of the North China Plain. He completed a successful campaign against the Wuhuan (乌桓) in the winter of 207, thus securing his northern frontier. Almost immediately afterward, his army turned south in the autumn of 208, aiming to eliminate his main southern rivals swiftly. Meanwhile, Liu Biao (刘表) , Governor of Jing province (荆洲), died in that year and his successor meekly surrendered.

Liu Bei, then at garrison at Fan (襄樊) , quickly fled south with a large refugee population following him. He was pursued by Cao Cao's elite cavalry, and was surrounded at the Battle of Changban (长坂之战) – See Fig. 2. Liu further fled east to Xiakou, where he liaised with Sun Quan's emissary Lu Su. Liu's main advisor Zhuge Liang was sent down the Yangtze to negotiate a mutual front against Cao Cao with the state of Wu. Zhuge Liang (诸葛亮)'s eloquence and Wu's chief commander, Zhou Yu's (周瑜) support finally persuaded the King of Wu, Sun Quan, to agree on the alliance against the northerners.

Meanwhile Cao Cao had captured the strategic centre and military depot of Jiangling (江凌), and harbored his massive fleet there. The combined Sun-Liu force sailed upstream to Red Cliffs, where they encountered Cao Cao's courier force. After a mild skirmish, both sides temporarily ceased activity - with Cao camped northern of the Yangtze River and the allies in the south. Cao Cao boasted a troop of 150,000 men, this was probably true as there is no evidence to suggest some other figure, he also had a sizeable cavalry and naval division. Zhou Yu had around 30,000 marines whilst the exiled Liu Bei managed around 20,000.

The decisive blow to Cao came shortly afterwards, though the sources vary on whether Liu or Sun struck it. The most detailed account comes from the biography of Zhou Yu, which details how the Sun commander Huang Gai (黄盖) planned an attack on Cao Cao with fireships.

The source tells of the devastation wrought in the Cao’s camp by the fires. In any case, a general order of retreat was given to Cao's troop, and it is likely that the northerners destroyed a number of their own ships during the retreat. There are hints that the northerners were at the time already plagued by disease and low morale.

Many other sources indicate that a combination of Wei's (魏国) underestimation and Shu's (蜀国) deception resulted in the allies' victory in the Battle of Red Cliffs. Cao Cao's generals and soldiers were mostly from cavalry and infantry, and almost none had any experience in battles on the water. Immersed in his victory over Wuhuan, Cao Cao simply assumed that superiority in number would eventually defeat the Wu (吴国) and Shu navy (the ratio of the naval forces on the two sides are estimated as 120,000 to 50,000). He converted his massive infantry and cavalry army into a marine corps and a navy, which was his first tactical mistake. Even with only a few days of drills before the battle, Cao Cao's troop was already decimated by sea-sickness and lack of experience in naval battles and many of his "fresh" crew could not even swim. Tropical diseases to which southerners had long been immuned, also plagued the soldiers of the north, and had spread wildly in Cao Cao's camps.

It was under such situation that Pang Tong (庞统) , a well-known strategist and peer of Zhuge Liang who is loyal to Shu, infiltrated into Cao Cao's army as a military adviser. Under the advice of Zhuge Liang, he recommended Cao Cao to chain his entire fleet together with strong iron chains to "prevent sea-sickness and disease". Cao Cao, who was famous for his suspicion, believed in Pang Tong, since he was extremely worried that his troop would be debilitated by the unfamiliar environment.

Within days, sea-sickness was drastically decreased, as the ships would rock less when chained together. Cao Cao then embraced this plan even more whole-heartedly. The strategy, dubbed "Together-Chained-Tactic" (连缳计) was actually devised by Zhuge Liang and Zhou Yu, and this seemingly beneficial act would eventually cause the debacle of his fleet.

At the same time, Zhuge Liang calculated that at this time of the year, winds would only blow in the direction of North-West (which was called a South-eastern wind). Cao Cao's fleet, which was anchored in the North-West relative to Shu's and Wu's camps, was then thoroughly exposed to a fire attack. Zhuge Liang betted on this South-eastern wind to even out the chances of the Wu and Shu's inferior forces.

On the eve of the battle, Cao Cao finally realized that the South-eastern wind disrupted his entire fleet movement, as his fleet could not advance against a wind blowing straight towards it. A general retreat order was issued, but as his fleet was chained tightly to one and another, panic broke out and prevented the fleet from retreating effectively. The entire fleet of 2,000 was then trapped in the middle of the Yangtze river with mobility that is next to zero.

In a desperate effort, Cao Cao called for an attack against the allied force. However, the arrows from Cao Cao's fleet could not reach the Wu and Shu's fleets, as the South-eastern wind blew the arrows away from their designated targets. Cao Cao's strategies of overwhelming the Shu-Wu navies with boarding parties had failed as soon as the fleet was immobilized. The Shu-Wu forces, aided by the wind, launched arrows with fire tips at the hapless warships of Cao Cao. A combination of volleys of "fire arrows" and attacks of the "fire ships" led by Huang Gai eventually destroyed the entire 2,000 warships of Cao Cao. The survivors of the Wei Navy had to row back to the northern shores in small boats, with interception of Shu-Wu marines and skirmishers all along the way-See Fig. 3

As his force fell back in disorder, Cao Cao was chased by Liu Bei's troops along the way. Ambushes set by Huang Zhong (黄忠) , Zhao Yun (赵云) , and Zhang Fei (张飞) continued to break down Cao Cao's force until Huarong Path (华容道) , where he faced the legendary Shu general Guan Yu (关羽) .

According to the legend, Guan Yu, moved by Cao Cao's ragness and weary troops, recalled Cao Cao's kind treatment to him at the Battle of Guandu when Cao Cao sheltered Guan Yu; so he allowed Cao Cao to escape with his remnant troop of 27 men. The legend also alleged that Zhuge Liang divined that Guan Yu would let Cao Cao off beforehand; but in order to show discipline, he still pretended being infuriated by Guan Yu's act and almost sentenced Guan Yu to death for not obeying orders, but was stopped by Liu Bei, the sworn brother of Guan Yu.

By the end of 209, the command Cao Cao had established at Jiangling fell to Zhou Yu. Liu Bei, on the other hand, had set up his own kingdom by taking over the four commanderies south of the Yangzi River . He also occupied Cao Cao's Jingzhou, a strategic fortress on the Chang Jiang River (长江) that Wu claimed itself. Jingzhou's location gave Liu Bei virtually unlimited access to the passage into Shu, important waterways into Wu, and dominion of the southern Yangtze river. According to the Shu-Wu treaty however, Jingzhou belonged to Wu, and hence Sun Quan was extremely bitter over this act of betrayal by Liu Bei, and Shu-Wu ties were officially severed. As a result, Shu and Wu would be warring over Jingzhou for the next 20 years. Wei, under Cao Cao's control, was still recuperating from the losses suffered in the Battle of Chibi, and therefore did not have enough resource to defend or retake Jingzhou from its southern rivals.

It is later claimed by some scholars that Zhuge Liang had planned this battle all along, calculating that Sun Quan's Wu force would be most weakened after the Battle of Chibi so that Shu could take the advantage of expanding its territory. Zhuge Liang gave the fortress of Jingzhou to Guan Yu, who maintained and guarded it until his death in 219.

Never again would Cao Cao command such a large fleet as he had at Jiangling nor similar opportunity to destroy his southern rivals would again present itself. Therefore, the Battle of Red Cliffs and the capture of Jingzhou confirmed the separation of Southern China from the northern Yellow River valley heartland. The battle not only formally established the division of China to the Three Kingdoms, but also foreshadowed the north-south hostility of the later centuries – See Fig.4 for the areas governed by each of the 3 Kingdoms.

Alright, so much for History 101. I am looking forward to watching Part 2 of the series. Hopefully, it is more exciting than Part 1.

What Goes Up Must Come Down

Table 1 : Newtonian Physics w.r.t the stock market

Date : Mar 14th, 2009

Of course, the reverse should be true also ….. What Comes Down Must Also Go Up !

On planet Earth, where Law of Physics governs how the natural world works ….. from electro-magnetic field due to Earth’s rotation, gravity, motions, electronics …. you name it, the Law of Physics has a part in it.

Now, let’s take a look at one of the most famous Laws in Physics ……..the Newton’s Law of Motion.

A simple definition as follows :

Newton's laws of motion are three physical laws that form the basis for classical mechanics, directly relating the forces acting on a body to the motion of the body. They were first compiled by Sir Isaac Newton in his work Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica, first published on July 5, 1687. Newton used them to explain and investigate the motion of many physical objects and systems.For example, in the third volume of the text, Newton showed that these laws of motion, combined with his law of universal gravitation, explained Kepler's laws of planetary motion.

1) First law
There exists a set of inertial reference frames relative to which all particles with no net force acting on them will move without change in their velocity. This law is often simplified as "A body persists its state of rest or of uniform motion unless acted upon by an external unbalanced force." Newton's first law is often referred to as the law of inertia. So in other words "every object in motion will stay in motion until acted upon by an outside force."

2) Second law
Observed from an inertial reference frame, the net force on a particle of constant mass is proportional to the time rate of change of its linear momentum: F = d(mv)/dt. This law is often stated as, "Force equals mass times acceleration (F = ma)": the net force on an object is equal to the mass of the object multiplied by its acceleration.

3) Third law
Whenever a particle A exerts a force on another particle B, B simultaneously exerts a force on A with the same magnitude in the opposite direction. The strong form of the law further postulates that these two forces act along the same line. This law is often simplified into the sentence, "To every action there is an equal and opposite reaction." Or in other words, "for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction."

Let’s see if this also applies to our stock market, the barometer of the state of economies of the country …. at least the perceived barometer for most people.

I tried applying these 3 Laws into the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) trend as illustrated in Table 1 above.

1st Law in Action :

From mid-2007 to mid-2008, with no external net force to jerk the market, the DJIA averages 13,000 pts :

... every object (the DJIA indice) in motion will stay in motion until acted upon by an outside force."

2nd Law in Action :

An external net force jerk the market in the form of the sub-prime mortgage crunch.

As we moved towards 4Q'08, more and more external net force sets in, one after another in a "tsunami-like" wave.

Giant US Corporations fells like dominoes ... Lehmans, AIG, Citigroup, Washington Mutual (WaMu), Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac .... the lists goes on (increasing the mass, 'm')

As the tsunami gathers momentum, 'a' .... the Force, F increases exponentially.

Unfortunately, the 'F' in this case is a "negative" force that represents broad panic selling.

By 1Q'09, the Dow lost 50% of its market capitalization.

3rd Law in Action :

Now, the stock market is a trading place. For trading to happen, there must be sellers & buyers, and prices are determined via the the Demand & Supply rules.

Hence, the 3rd Law : for every action (Selling) there is an equal and opposite reaction (Buying)" ... however much the sellers want to sell, there will be buyers taking them up.

There you have it .....the stock market also behaves like any other natural forces of the Earth. It conforms to the Law of Physics. Now, the trillion $ question is ..... who are these people/institutions that are buying up in the current extreme bearish sentiments ? ...and why are they doing it ?

A hidden lesson to be learnt here ?

Remember ... What Comes Down Must Also Go Up ! .... if you truly believe in the 3 Laws of Motion.

I was joking with a colleague the other day. He is a Planning guy and naturally, he's concerned with production outputs. Recalling this, I laughed when he coined the term "What Goes In Must Come Out".