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36 Ji Introduction Table of content – Thirty-Six Strategies

A recently uncovered notebook of 36 proverbs commented as military tactics that helps dealing with conflicts. Tr. Verstappen (en), Doc Mac Jr (fr).

36ji IV. 19.

Steal The Firewood From Under the Pot

When faced with an enemy too powerful to engage directly you must first weaken him by undermining his foundation and attacking his source of power.

Legendary Era Japan

Japan's ancient hero Yamato Takeru was one of the eighty children of emperor Keiko. One day he was sent to kill a notorious outlaw who was such an expert swordsman that all who had gotten in his way were killed. Yamato Takeru did not intend to duel with the bandit and pretended to be ignorant of the man's reputation in order to befriend him. They became such good friends that they even went swimming together on a regular basis. When Yamato Takeru was assured the bandit harbored no suspicions he was ready to act. One day when they went swimming he brought with him a wooden sword that he hid in his travel kit. They were in the habit of racing each other around a small island but this time while they were racing Takeru let the bandit take the lead and, once he was out of sight behind the island, Takeru swam back to shore and quickly replaced the bandit's sword with the wooden one. After they had gotten dressed Takeru turned to the bandit and revealed his true purpose. The bandit immediately went for his sword, but the wooden sword had become wedged in the scabbard. While he was struggling to draw the wooden sword, Takeru took the bandit's head off in a single stroke.

Verstappen

« Retirer le feu sous le chaudron »

Prive l'adversaire de ressources avant de l'attaquer,
va à la racine, prends des mesures radicales,
fait une cure complète.

Eviter une confrontation de puissance avec l'adversaire et chercher à affaiblir sa position, à l'image du lac et du ciel.*

Il doit être complètement fou l'homme qui essaye de faire bouillir de l'eau en ôtant et en reposant le chaudron dans l'âtre. Un général qui se jette la tête la première sur un ennemi plus puissant commet le même genre d'erreur avec des conséquences bien plus graves. Ainsi cette stratégie enseigne qu'il ne faut pas rechercher l'engagement avec l'adversaire avant d'avoir réussi à déduire sa puissance de combat, principalement en sapant le moral de ses troupes.

Connexion avec la stratégie Quatre.

* Tiré de l'hexagramme n°10 du Yi Jing : Lü (le voyageur)... Ainsi, en se dressant face au puissant, le faible se trouvera en danger s'il passe à l'attaque de lui-même, mais il trouvera une issue heureuse s'il agit avec prudence et circonspection.

Doc Mac Jr

[Xref] Strategy 19 quotes I Ching hexagram 10
gbog – Yijing 10 – 2005/12/02
36 Ji IV. 19. (19) IntroductionTable of content
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Thirty–Six Strategies – 36 Ji IV. 19. – Chinese on/offFrançais/English
AliasThirty-Six Strategies, Thirty-Six Stratagems, Secret Art of War, Les 36 stratagèmes, Les Trente-six stratégies

The Book of Odes, The Analects, Great Learning, Doctrine of the Mean, Three-characters book, The Book of Changes, The Way and its Power, 300 Tang Poems, The Art of War, Thirty-Six Strategies
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