Thirty Six Stratagems, by Ancient Chinese

The Thirty-Six Strategies is a unique collection of ancient Chinese proverbs that describe some of the most cunning and subtle strategies ever devised. Whereas other Chinese military texts such as Sun Zis The Art of War focus on military organization, leadership, and battlefield tactics, the Thirty-Six Strategies are more suitably applied in the fields of politics, diplomacy, and espionage. These proverbs describe not only battlefield strategies, but tactics used in psychological warfare to undermine both the enemys will to fight - and his sanity. Tactics such as the double cross, the frame job, and the bait and switch, can be traced back through thousands of years of Chinese history to such proverbs as Hide the Dagger Behind a Smile, Kill With a Borrowed Sword, and Toss out a Brick to Attract Jade respectively. Though other Chinese military works of strategy have at least paid lip service to the Confucian notion of honour, the Thirty-Six Strategies make no pretence of being anything but ruthless.