Notes from China

The following is a program that introduces Mandarin Chinese to the English-speaker. The discussion of language is also accompanied by a brief introduction to the well-known sixth-century essay, Thirty-six Stratagems (with historical examples and illustrations), as well as their corresponding hexagrams from the ancient Chinese philosophy of change, the Yijing. The structure is such that each chapter contains one of the 36 stratagems as a kind of theme to which the vocabulary, characters, and sample sentences have been related, and each chapter is denoted by the hexagram corresponding to that stratagem.

Table of Contents

• Chapter 0: Preamble
• Chapter 1: 瞒天过海: Deceive the Heavens to Cross the Ocean
• Chapter 2: 围魏救赵: Besiege Wei to Rescue Zhao
• Chapter 3: 借刀杀人: Kill with a Borrowed Knife
• Chapter 4: 以逸待劳: Wait at Leisure While the Enemy Labors
• Chapter 5: 趁火打劫: Loot a Burning House
• Chapter 6: 声东击西: Make a Feint in the East while Attacking in the West
• Chapter 7: 无中生有: Create Something out of Nothing
• Chapter 8: 暗渡陈仓: Openly Repair the Gallery Roads, but Sneak Through the Passage of Chencang
• Chapter 9: 隔岸观火: Watch the Fires Burning from Across the River
• Chapter 10: 笑里藏刀: Hide a Knife Behind a Smile
• Chapter 11: 李代桃僵: Sacrifice the Plum Tree to Preserve the Peach Tree
• Chapter 12: 顺手牵羊: Lead Away a Goat in Passing
• Chapter 13: 打草惊蛇: Beat the Grass to Startle the Snake
• Chapter 14: 借尸还魂: Borrow a Corpse to Resurrect the Soul
• Chapter 15: 调虎离山: Lure the Tiger Out of the Mountains
• Chapter 16: 欲擒故纵: In Order to Capture, One Must Let Loose
• Chapter 17: 抛砖引玉: Cast Out a Brick to Secure Jade
• Chapter 18: 擒贼擒王: Defeat the Enemy by Capturing Its Chief
• Chapter 19: 釜底抽薪: Remove the Firewood from Under the Pot
• Chapter 20: 混水摸鱼: Disturb the Water to Catch a Fish
• Chapter 21: 金蝉脱壳: The Golden Cicada Sloughs off Its Shell
• Chapter 22: 关门捉贼: Shut the Door to Catch the Thief
• Chapter 23: 远交近攻: Befriend a Distant State While Attacking a Neighbor
• Chapter 24: 假道伐虢: Obtain Safe Passage to Conquer the State of Guo
• Chapter 25: 偷梁换柱: Replace the Beams with Rotten Timbers
• Chapter 26: 指桑骂槐: Point at the Mulberry Tree While Cursing the Locust Tree
• Chapter 27: 假痴不癫: Feign Madness but Keep Your Balance
• Chapter 28: 上屋抽梯: Remove the Ladder Once the Enemy Has Ascended to the Roof
• Chapter 29: 树上开花: Deck the Tree With False Blossoms
• Chapter 30: 反客为主: Make the Host and the Guest Exchange Roles
• Chapter 31: 美人计: The Beauty Trap (Honey Trap)
• Chapter 32: 空城计: The Empty City Stratagem
• Chapter 33: 反间计: Let the Enemy's Own Spy Sow Discord in the Enemy Camp
• Chapter 34: 苦肉计: Inflict Injury On One's Self to Win the Enemy's Trust
• Chapter 35: 连环计: Chain Stratagems
• Chapter 36: 走为上: If All Else Fails, Retreat
• Chapter 37: Chen Ping’s First Strategy
• Chapter 38: Chen Ping's Second Strategy
• Chapter 39: Chen Ping's Third Strategy
• Chapter 40: Chen Ping's Fourth Strategy
• Chapter 41: Chen Ping's Fifth Strategy
• Bibliography