The Thirty-Six Stratagems in English: A Reader-Friendly Guide

If you came here looking for Sun Tzu’s The Art of War, you are in the right neighborhood but the wrong house.

The Thirty-Six Stratagems (三十六计, sān shí liù jì) are the most quoted Chinese strategy collection that almost nobody in the West reads correctly. Let me fix that for you, in plain English, starting with the single most important thing you need to know.

I grew up hearing Chinese elders drop these stratagems into casual conversation — 走为上计 when someone knew to walk away from a losing situation, 瞒天过海 when a colleague pulled off a clever deception. It was years before I realized these were not just folk sayings; they belonged to a formal list. Most English readers never get that context, so let me give it to you straight.

Key Takeaways

1. The Thirty-Six Stratagems are not The Art of War — they are a later, anonymous collection of tactical patterns, not a single-author military treatise.
2. No one knows who wrote them — the 36 Stratagems emerged from Chinese folk wisdom, historical anecdotes, and literary tradition, not from one philosopher.
3. The best English translation depends on what you want: a quick reference, deep cultural context, or practical application.
4. Each stratagem names a situation pattern, not a manipulation trick — the tradition is about recognizing the shape of your circumstances before you move.
5. The most famous stratagem, “Retreat is the Best Strategy” (走为上计), reveals the collection’s deeper wisdom: knowing when not to fight is the highest form of strategy.

The Biggest Misconception — This Is Not The Art of War

Let’s unpack that right now, because it is the most common mistake English readers make.

The Art of War is a systematic military philosophy text. It has one attributed author (Sun Tzu), a clear structure of 13 chapters, and a coherent argument about winning without fighting. It teaches you to think like a commander.

The Thirty-Six Stratagems are different. They are a collection of 36 tactical formulas — short phrases that name recognizable patterns in conflict, competition, and everyday life. Each stratagem is a two-to-four-character Chinese idiom, followed by a brief explanation and sometimes a historical example. There is no single author. There is no unified argument. There is just a vocabulary of situations.

Here is what that means for you: If you read the 36 Stratagems expecting a single coherent philosophy, you will be confused. If you read them as a shared cultural shorthand — a way for Chinese speakers to name a recurring situation with one phrase — they become immediately useful. If you want a quick grounding before going deeper, I have a full explanation of what the 36 stratagems actually are.

The Art of War teaches you to think like a commander; the Thirty-Six Stratagems teach you to recognize the shape of the situation before you move.

Who Actually Wrote the 36 Stratagems? (No One Knows)

This is the part that surprises most English readers.

The Thirty-Six Stratagems do not have a known author. They were not written by Sun Tzu, Zhuge Liang, or any other famous Chinese strategist. They were not even compiled as a single collection until relatively late in Chinese history.

What We Actually Know

The earliest known reference to “Thirty-Six Stratagems” appears in the Book of Southern Qi (6th century CE), where a general says, “Among the thirty-six stratagems of war, retreat is the best.” But the full list of 36 did not appear until much later, in an anonymous pamphlet from the late Ming period.

What this means for you: Stop looking for one authoritative author. Start seeing the 36 Stratagems as what they are — a shared cultural vocabulary that Chinese speakers use to name situations, not a single book to be mastered.

The Three Major English Translations

If you want to read the Thirty-Six Stratagems in English, you have three main options. Each serves a different purpose.

Translation Comparison Table

My Recommendation for Most Readers

Start with Stefan H. Verstappen. His translation is clear, practical, and includes enough cultural context to understand each stratagem without getting lost in academic detail. Read it through once to get the lay of the land.

Then, if you want depth, move to Harro von Senger. His work is the most comprehensive English treatment available, with detailed historical examples and philosophical analysis. But do not start there — it is like learning a language by reading a dictionary.

Use anonymous online translations only for quick reference when you already know what a stratagem means and just need the Chinese characters or a literal translation. For practical ways to use the stratagems in real situations, see my guide on how to apply the 36 stratagems.

If you’re ready to choose between the major English editions, I’ve compared the main translations side by side — Verstappen, Cleary, von Senger, and the bilingual PRC editions — with five renderings of the same stratagem on one page, in my translations compared guide.

Stratagem 1 vs Stratagem 36 — Two Ends of the Spectrum

To understand the full range of the Thirty-Six Stratagems, look at the first and the last.

Stratagem 1: Deceive the Heavens to Cross the Ocean (瞒天过海)

Literal meaning: Hide the sky to cross the sea.

What it means: Create a decoy or distraction so obvious that your opponent stops looking for the real action. The deception is not subtle — it is so bold that it looks like the truth.

Cultural context: The phrase comes from a story about Emperor Taizong of Tang, who was afraid to cross the sea. His general pretended they were still on land by creating an elaborate illusion, and by the time the emperor realized they were at sea, it was too late to turn back.

Modern application: A company announces a minor product update (the decoy) while secretly launching a major new service (the real move). The competitor focuses on the decoy and misses the real play. For the full story behind this stratagem and more examples, see the Stratagem 1 deep dive.

Stratagem 36: Retreat is the Best Strategy (走为上计)

Literal meaning: Walking away is the best plan.

What it means: When you are in a losing position, the smartest move is to withdraw, preserve your resources, and live to fight another day.

Cultural context: This is the most famous of all 36 Stratagems. It is also the most misunderstood in the West, where “retreat” sounds cowardly. In Chinese strategic thinking, retreat is a form of wisdom — it acknowledges that not all situations can be won through direct confrontation.

Modern application: You are in a negotiation that is going nowhere. Instead of forcing a bad deal, you walk away. You preserve your position and leave the door open for a better opportunity later. To understand why this is the most famous stratagem, see the full Stratagem 36 guide.

The Spectrum

The Thirty-Six Stratagems cover the entire range from aggressive deception to defensive wisdom. Neither is “better” — each applies to a specific situation type.

The Six Categories — Finding Your Situational Match

The 36 Stratagems are organized into six categories of six stratagems each. Each category addresses a different type of situation.

What this means for you: Before you reach for a stratagem, ask yourself which category your situation falls into. Are you in a strong position? A weak one? Is the situation clear or confused? The category tells you which stratagems to look at and which to avoid. For a detailed look at how one stratagem plays out across an entire campaign, see Stratagem 2: Besiege Wei to Rescue Zhao.

36 Stratagems vs. The Art of War — Side by Side

Let me make this distinction crystal clear.

The practical difference: If you want to learn how to think about strategy, read The Art of War first. If you want to learn how to name the situation you are already in, read the 36 Stratagems.

They complement each other. They do not replace each other.

The Taoist Connection — Situational Wisdom in Daily Life

This is the part most English translations miss.

The Thirty-Six Stratagems share a deep connection with Taoist philosophy — specifically the Tao Te Ching — even though they are not explicitly Taoist texts. The connection is in the approach. If you want to read the Tao Te Ching alongside this guide, my translation guide will help you choose the right version.

What Taoism Contributes

Taoist thinking emphasizes:

• Wu wei (无为): Non-forced action — acting in alignment with the situation rather than against it
• Naturalness: Recognizing the inherent pattern of circumstances
• Indirectness: Going around obstacles rather than through them
• Humility: Knowing when you are in a losing position

The 36 Stratagems operationalize these principles. When you use Stratagem 36 (Retreat), you are practicing wu wei — you recognize that forcing the situation will only make things worse, so you withdraw and wait for a better moment. When you use Stratagem 1 (Deceive the Heavens), you are using indirectness — you do not attack the problem head-on; you create a path around it.

What this means for daily life: The 36 Stratagems are not just for war or business. They are for any situation where you need to recognize the shape of your circumstances and act accordingly.

• In a relationship conflict: Stratagem 36 (Retreat) might mean taking a break instead of escalating the argument.
• In a career decision: Stratagem 7 (Create Something from Nothing) might mean creating an opportunity where none seemed to exist.
• In a personal challenge: Stratagem 19 (Remove the Firewood) might mean removing the root cause of a problem rather than fighting its symptoms.

The Taoist wisdom is this: Do not fight the river. Read the current, and move with it.

Stratagems in Journey to the West

If you want to see the 36 Stratagems in action without reading a strategy manual, pick up Journey to the West — the classic Chinese novel about the monk Xuanzang’s pilgrimage to India, accompanied by the Monkey King Sun Wukong.

The novel is full of stratagem-like situations:

• Stratagem 1 (Deceive the Heavens): Sun Wukong frequently uses elaborate illusions and transformations to deceive his enemies — turning into a fly to spy on demons, or creating false versions of himself to confuse opponents.
• Stratagem 7 (Create Something from Nothing): When Sun Wukong has no weapon, he creates one from a hair or a cloud — making something useful out of nothing.
• Stratagem 36 (Retreat): When the pilgrims face an overwhelming demon, they retreat, regroup, and find another way — often by seeking help from celestial beings.

Journey to the West is not a strategy textbook. But it is a living demonstration of how the 36 Stratagems work in narrative form. Each episode presents a situation pattern, and the characters respond according to the shape of that pattern.

For English readers: If you want to feel the cultural texture of the 36 Stratagems, read Journey to the West alongside a stratagem reference. You will start noticing the patterns everywhere. To choose the right translation, check out my Journey to the West reading guide.

How to Read the 36 Stratagems — A Practical Guide

Here is my step-by-step recommendation for a first-time English reader.

Step 1: Get the Big Picture (30 minutes)

Read the complete list of 36 Stratagems once, without trying to memorize or apply anything. Just get a sense of the range — from deception to retreat, from advantage to disadvantage.

Step 2: Understand the Categories (1 hour)

Go back and study the six categories. For each category, ask yourself: What kind of situation does this address? When would I be in this position?

Step 3: Focus on Three Stratagems (2 hours)

Pick three stratagems that resonate with your current situation:

• One from the Victory category (when you have advantage)
• One from the Chaos category (when things are confused)
• One from the Defeat category (when you are in a losing position)

Read their full explanations, historical examples, and modern applications.

Step 4: Practice Recognition (Ongoing)

For one week, notice situations in your daily life that match one of the 36 patterns. Do not try to “use” the stratagem — just name the pattern. This is the core skill: recognizing the shape of the situation.

Step 5: Read a Full Translation (Optional)

If you want depth, read Verstappen’s translation cover to cover. Then, if you want scholarly depth, move to von Senger.

How to Avoid Common Mistakes

• Focus on understanding the categories before memorizing individual stratagems.
• Identify your situation type before reaching for a stratagem.
• Treat the stratagems as patterns of recognition, not weapons.
• Read across all six categories before picking a stratagem to apply.

Your next step: If you want the full list with explanations, start at the 36 Stratagems hub. If you want to compare it with Sun Tzu, read The Art of War first — then come back and see how the 36 Stratagems give you a different kind of practical wisdom.