Thirty-Six Stratagems
term used to illustrate a series of 36 stratagems (referenced: the Book of Qi's seventh biographical volume, Biography of Wáng Jìngzé (王敬則傳), ca. 436CE)
The Thirty-Six Stratagems is a Chinese essay used to illustrate a series of stratagems used in politics, war, and civil interaction.
Its focus on the use of cunning and deception both on the battlefield and in court have drawn comparisons to Sun Tzu's The Art of War.
Origin
The name of the collection comes from the Book of Qi's seventh biographical volume, Biography of Wang Jingze (王敬則傳). 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, Wang believed that he would be targeted next and rebelled. As Wang received news that Xiao Baojuan, son and crown prince of Emperor Ming, had escaped in haste after learning of the rebellion, he commented that "of the thirty-six stratagems of Lord Tán, retreat was his best, you father and son should run for sure." "Lord Tán" refers to general Tan Daoji of the Liu Song dynasty, who was forced to retreat after his failed attack on Northern Wei, and Wang mentioned his name in contempt as an example of cowardice.
The number thirty-six was used by Wang as a figure of speech in this context, and is meant to denote "numerous stratagems" instead of any specific number. Wang's choice of this term came from 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". Since Wang did not refer to any thirty-six specific stratagems, the thirty-six proverbs and their connection to military strategies and tactics are likely to have been created after the fact, with only the collection's name being attributed to Wang.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Thirty-Six Stratagems” is term used to illustrate a series of 36 stratagems (referenced: the Book of Qi's seventh biographical volume, Biography of Wáng Jìngzé (王敬則傳), ca. 436CE). The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Thirty-Six, Stratagems and term, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “term used to illustrate a series of 36 stratagems (referenced: the Book of Qi's seventh biographical volume, Biography of Wáng Jìngzé (王敬則傳), ca. 436CE)” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Object files, edition statements, performance records and contemporary criticism preserve different stages of the work’s history. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 20, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q83590. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
Rights, attribution and provenance may remain disputed even when a general reference summary presents a stable account. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
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The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.
Three-step research path
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- Expand the search: follow Thirty-Six Stratagems primary sources, Thirty-Six Stratagems archive and Thirty-Six research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
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This entry incorporates text from “Thirty-Six Stratagems” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.