《三十六计》全套英文表达

Chapter 4: Chaos Stratagems
第四套：混战计

第十九计 釜底抽薪
extracting the firewood from under the cauldron

▌原文

不敌其力，而消其势，兑下乾上之象。

▌英文注释

Take out the leading argument or asset of someone; "steal someone's thunder". This is the very essence of indirect approach: instead of attacking enemy's fighting forces, the attacks are directed against his ability to wage war.

第二十计 混水摸鱼
muddling the water to catch the fish; fishing in troubled waters

▌原文

乘其阴乱，利其弱而无主。随，以向晦入宴息。

▌英文注释

Create confusion and use this confusion to further your own goals.

第二十一计 金蝉脱壳
slipping away by casting off a cloak; getting away like the cicada sloughing its skin

▌原文

存其形，完其势；友不疑，敌不动。巽而止蛊。

▌英文注释

Mask yourself. Either leave one's distinctive traits behind, thus becoming inconspicuous, or masquerade as something or someone else.

This strategy is mainly used to escape from enemy of superior strength.

第二十二计 关门捉贼
catching the thief by closing / blocking his escape route

▌原文

小敌困之。剥，不利有攸往。

▌英文注释

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.

第二十三计 远交近攻
befriending the distant enemy while attacking a nearby enemy

▌原文

形禁势格，利从近取，害以远隔。上火下泽。

▌英文注释

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.

第二十四计 假途伐虢
attacking the enemy by passing through a common neighbor

▌原文

两大之间，敌胁以从，我假以势。困，有言不信。

▌英文注释

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.

第五套：并战计
Chapter 5: Proximate Stratagems

第二十五计 偷梁换柱
stealing the beams and pillars and replacing them with rotten timbers

▌原文

频更其阵，抽其劲旅，待其自败，而后乘之。曳其轮也。

▌英文注释

Disrupt the enemy's formations, interfere with their methods of operations, change the rules in which they are used to following, 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.

第二十六计 指桑骂槐
reviling/abusing the locust tree while pointing to the mulberry

▌原文

大凌小者，警以诱之。刚中而应，行险而顺。

▌英文注释

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.

第二十七计 假痴不癫
feigning madness without becoming insane

▌原文

宁伪作不知不为，不伪作假知妄为。静不露机，云雷屯也。

▌英文注释

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.

第二十八计 上屋抽梯
removing the ladder after the enemy has climbed up the roof

▌原文

假之以便，唆之使前，断其援应，陷之死地。遇毒，位不当也。

▌英文注释

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.

第二十九计 树上开花
putting artificial flowers on trees

▌原文

借局布势，力小势大。鸿渐于陆，其羽可以为仪也。

▌英文注释

Tying silk blossoms on a dead tree gives the illusion that the tree is healthy. Through the use of artifice and disguise, make something of no value appear valuable; of no threat appear dangerous; of no use appear useful.

第三十计 反客为主
turning from the guest into the host

▌原文

乘隙插足，扼其主机，渐之进也。

▌英文注释

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.

第六套：败战计
Chapter 6: Desperate Stratagems

第三十一计 美人计
using seductive women to corrupt the enemy

▌原文

兵强者，攻其将；将智者，伐其情。将弱兵颓，其势自萎。利用御寇，顺相保也。

▌英文注释

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.

第三十二计 空城计
presenting a bold front to conceal unpreparedness

▌原文

虚者虚之，疑中生疑。刚柔之际，奇而复奇。

▌英文注释

When the enemy is superior in numbers and your situation is such that you expect to be overrun at any moment, then drop all pretense of military preparedness, act calmly and taunt the enemy, so that the enemy will think you have a huge ambush hidden for them.

It works best by acting calm and at ease when your enemy expects you to be tense.

第三十三计 反间计
sowing discord among the enemy

▌原文

疑中之疑。比之自内，不自失也。

▌英文注释

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.

第三十四计 苦肉计
deceiving the enemy by torturing one's own man

▌原文

人不自害，受害必真。假真真假，间以得行。童蒙之吉，顺以巽也。

▌英文注释

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.

第三十五计 连环计
coordinating one stratagem with another

▌原文

将多兵众，不可以敌，使其自累，以杀其势。在师中吉，承天宠也。

▌英文注释

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.

第三十六计 走为上
decamping being the best; running away as the best choice

▌原文

全师避敌。左次无咎，未失常也。

▌英文注释

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".

（来源：中国日报网双语新闻微信，编辑：何娜）