The Thirty-Six Strategies of Ancient China

The origin of the THIRTY-SIX STRATEGIES are unknown. No author or compiler has ever been mentioned, and no date as to when it may have been written has been ascertained.

The first historical mention of the THIRTY-SIX STRATEGIES dates back to the Southern Qi dynasty (A.D. 489-537) where it is mentioned in the Nan Qi Shi (History of the Southern Chi Dynasty). It briefly records, "Of the 36 stratagems of Master Tan, running away is the best." Master Tan may be the famous General Tan Daoji (d. A.D. 436), but there is no evidence to either prove or disprove his authorship. While this is the first recorded mention of THIRTY-SIX STRATEGIES, some of the proverbs themselves are based on events that occurred up to seven hundred years earlier. For example, the strategy 'Openly Repair the Walkway, Secretly March to Chencang is based on a tactic allegedly used by the founder of the Han dynasty, Gaozu, to escape from Sichuan in 223 B.C.

The original text of THE SECRET ART OF WAR, THE THIRTY-SIX STRATEGIES is rather short, comprising only 138 Chinese characters. It merely names each strategy followed by a brief explanation. The book was divided into six categories of six strategies each. The six categories are said to correspond to six situations as follows: Stratagems when in a superior position; Stratagems for confrontation; Stratagems for attack; Stratagems for confused situations; Stratagems for gaining ground; and Stratagems for desperate situations.