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Ancient Chinese Wisdom: Chinese Mythology & Thirty-Six Stratagems

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Fictional or semi-fictional stories and practical concepts are like yin and yang, the two fundamental principles of ancient Chinese philosophy. In this book, we present just such yin and yang, namely, “Chinese Mythology” and the "Thirty-Six Stratagems."

The mythology here describes ancient beliefs in origins, ancestors, history and deities. On the other hand, the "Thirty-Six Stratagems" were originally a collection of strategies or practical ruses for warfare. But today, many Chinese people apply them to politics, business, sports as well as their daily life.

About Author

张慈贇,Born in Shanghai in 1949, ZHANG Ciyun (Peter) graduated from Jilin Normal University, PRC with a major in English and later from Stanford University in the United States with a Master's Degree in Journalism. Since 1980, he has worked for several newspapers and magazines in both Beijing and Shanghai. Also, he once served in the General Office of the Ministry of Communications as an interpreter and the Information Office of Shanghai Municipality as its Deputy General Director.

An acclaimed translator, reporter and editor, Mr.Zhang has helped bring into existence four English-language newspapers on the Chinese mainland,namely, China Daily, Beijing Weekend, Shanghai Star and Shanghai Daily. He is now the Editor-in-Chief Emeritus of Shanghai Daily and an executive council member of Translation Association of China.He has translated and co-translated more than a dozen books and a large amount of documents, includingStrange Stories of Liao Zhai Studio and the English version of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. He has also published many English and Chinese articles and theses in newspapers and magazines both in China and overseas.

Table of Contents

Chinese Mythology
盘古开天地
Pangu creates the world
女娲造人
Nuwa makes man
女娲补天
Nuwa mends the sky
伏羲的故事
The works of Fuxi
神农的故事
Hail the ‘Divine Farmer’
精卫填海
Jingwei tests the sea
燧人钻木取火
Saved by Fire Fetcher Suiren
夸父追日
Kuafu chases the sun
嫘祖的故事
Tale as smooth as silk
仓颉造字
Birth of a language
后羿射日
Sun-birds bake Earth
嫦娥奔月
Restless Chang’e flees
鲧盗息壤
Gun steals Magic Soil
大禹治水
Yu harnesses flooding
瑶姬的故事
Goddess Peak of Wushan Mountain
牛郎织女
The cowherd and the girl weaver
十二生肖
Zodiac animals
愚公移山
Moving mountains
钟馗的故事
The Demon Queller
Thirty-Six Stratagems
瞒天过海
Deceiving the heavens to cross the sea
围魏救赵
Besieging Wei to save Zhao
借刀杀人
Killing with a borrowed knife
以逸待劳
Waiting at ease for a worn-out enemy
趁火打劫
Looting a house when it’s on fire
声东击西
Making a feint to the east, but hitting out in the west
无中生有
Creating something out of nothing
暗度陈仓
A ruse to divert your enemies
隔岸观火
Watching the fire burning from the other side of the river
笑里藏刀
Hiding a dagger behind a smile
李代桃僵
A plum tree sacrificed to protect the peach tree
顺手牵羊
Pilfering a goat in passing
打草惊蛇
Startling the snake, or not
借尸还魂
The ploy of incarnation
调虎离山
Luring tiger out of the mountains
欲擒故纵
Letting up on your pursuit
抛砖引玉
Throwing out a brick to attract a piece of jade
擒贼擒王
To beat the enemy army, capture their leader first
釜底抽薪
Removing the burning firewood from beneath a boiling cauldron
浑水摸鱼
Fishing in turbid waters
金蝉脱壳
Ruse of the golden cicada
关门捉贼
Shut the door to catch the thief
远交近攻
Making distant states allies while attacking a neighbor
借道伐虢
Defeating one enemy at a time
偷梁换柱
Swapping good wood for bad
指桑骂槐
Achieving the result without waging too many battles
假痴不癫
Feigning weakness to wait for the right time to strike
上屋抽梯
Cutting off escape routes
树上开花
Defending with ‘blossoms’
反客为主
Guest outstaying welcome
美人计
Beaten by womanly wiles
空城计
An empty fortress strategy
反间计
Sowing distrust in enemy camp
苦肉计
When one hurts himself, he is really to hurt his enemy
连环计
Multi-ploy scheme at play
走为上计
When everything fails, retreat

Sample Pages Preview

In ancient times, there were no Chinese zodiac animals.So, one day, the Jade Emperor decided to call all animals on the earth to a party and he would pick 12 animals to represent 12 zodiac signs.
Hearing the news, all animals were very excited and eager to attend the big party.
At that time, the rat and the cat were very good friends.The cat loved to take naps, so he told the rat to wake him up in time for the party next day.
Early next morning, after the rat got up, he saw the cat still sound asleep.In order to get a bigger chance to win a spot in the zodiac cycle, the rat decided not to wake the cat.So, he sneaked out and went to the party by himself.
In the nearby lake, a dragon was getting ready to go to the party.With a big nose, long whiskers and shiny scales, the dragon looked both gallant and radiant.But he loathed his bald head.He thought if he could have a pair of beautiful antlers, he would look perfect.
Then, he saw a rooster going by.The rooster at that time had both a crest and a pair of very beautiful antlers.So, the dragon said, “Good morning, Rooster.Can I borrow your antlers? I'm going to attend the animal party and I can't go with a bald head.”
“No,” the rooster answered.“I'm going to the party, too.I need my beautiful antlers myself.”

Ancient Chinese Wisdom: Chinese Mythology & Thirty-Six Stratagems
$9.20