A catalogue of deception patterns, several of which have no single name in Western strategic writing.
The collection names manoeuvres compactly enough to be recognised in the field: besiege Wei to rescue Zhao, for striking the undefended thing your opponent must protect; borrow a corpse to return the soul, for reviving a dead institution under a new purpose. Naming a pattern is what lets it be spotted quickly.
In practice
- A competitor attacks the market that funds your main product rather than the product itself.
- A dormant charity is revived by a group who wanted its registration and none of its purpose.
- Possible explanations
- The explanation for its usefulness is naming: a manoeuvre with a short name can be recognised, taught and discussed, which is the same reason military doctrine names formations.
- In its favour
- Several of the stratagems have no compact name in Western strategic writing, and the collection remains in active use in Chinese business and military education.
- Against it
- It is a catalogue rather than a theory, with no account of when each stratagem works, and its compilation date and authorship are unsettled.
- Standing
- Compilation date and authorship are unsettled; the collection is considerably later than the Warring States material it draws on.
- Subject
- Games & Strategic Interaction
- Essay
- The recurring shapes of conflict and cooperation