Samdapau — Chinese Classics, Decoded

Set 6 of 6 — Stratagems 31–36: the Desperate-Situations Stratagems.The Thirty-Six Stratagems — ancient China's playbook of cunning.Six stratagems for when everything is already lost — opening a kingdom's gates from the inside with a smile, holding a city with open gates and a single lute, killing the enemy's best general with a rumor he never heard, buying trust with fifty real blows, chaining two traps so each tightens the other, and retreating for nineteen years to come back a king.Chapters:0:00 Set 6 — Stratagems for Desperate Situations0:02 Stratagem 31 — The Beauty Trap2:18 Stratagem 32 — The Empty Fort Strategy4:37 Stratagem 33 — Let the Enemy's Own Spies Sow Discord6:48 Stratagem 34 — Inflict Injury on Oneself to Win the Enemy's Trust9:02 Stratagem 35 — Chain Stratagems11:22 Stratagem 36 — If All Else Fails, RetreatFull video series on YouTube: Samdapau

Set 5 of 6 — Stratagems 25–30: the Gaining-Ground Stratagems.The Thirty-Six Stratagems — ancient China's playbook of cunning.Six stratagems for gaining ground — swapping one edict to steal an empire in a night, executing one man to speak to ten thousand, playing the drooling fool until the empire stops watching, trapping a genius on a roof to hear the truth, bluffing an army out of branches and dust, and walking in as a guest who ends up owning the house.Chapters:0:00 Set 5 — Stratagems for Gaining Ground0:02 Stratagem 25 — Replace the Beams With Rotten Timbers2:21 Stratagem 26 — Point at the Mulberry Tree While Cursing the Locust Tree4:44 Stratagem 27 — Feign Madness but Keep Your Balance7:00 Stratagem 28 — Remove the Ladder When the Enemy Has Ascended to the Roof9:18 Stratagem 29 — Deck the Tree With False Blossoms11:29 Stratagem 30 — Make the Host and the Guest Exchange RolesFull video series on YouTube: Samdapau

Set 4 of 6 — Stratagems 19–24: the Chaos Stratagems.The Thirty-Six Stratagems — ancient China's playbook of cunning.Six stratagems for winning in chaos — burning the army's dinner instead of the army, fishing an empire out of muddy water at dawn, holding a battlefield with a wooden statue, closing every door of a valley so hunger fights for you, befriending the far kingdoms while devouring the near ones, and borrowing a road to take two kingdoms.Chapters:0:00 Set 4 — Stratagems for Chaos0:02 Stratagem 19 — Remove the Firewood From Under the Pot2:13 Stratagem 20 — Fish in Troubled Waters4:40 Stratagem 21 — The Cicada Sloughs Off Its Golden Shell6:55 Stratagem 22 — Shut the Door to Catch the Thief9:21 Stratagem 23 — Befriend a Distant State While Attacking a Neighbour11:32 Stratagem 24 — Obtain Safe Passage to Conquer the State of GuoFull video series on YouTube: Samdapau

Set 3 of 6 — Stratagems 13–18: the Attack Stratagems.The Thirty-Six Stratagems — ancient China's playbook of cunning.Six stratagems for going on the attack — beating the grass so the snake confesses, raising an empire on a dead dynasty's name, bribing the tiger off his mountain, capturing a king seven times to win his heart, baiting jade with a brick of two poem lines, and ending an empire by taking its khan in one snowy night.Chapters:0:00 Set 3 — Stratagems for Attack0:02 Stratagem 13 — Stomp the Grass to Scare the Snake2:10 Stratagem 14 — Borrow a Corpse to Resurrect the Soul4:45 Stratagem 15 — Entice the Tiger to Leave Its Mountain Lair7:08 Stratagem 16 — To Catch Something, First Let It Go9:25 Stratagem 17 — Toss Out a Brick to Attract Jade11:42 Stratagem 18 — Defeat the Enemy by Capturing Their ChiefFull video series on YouTube: Samdapau

Set 2 of 6 — Stratagems 7–12: the Confrontation Stratagems.The Thirty-Six Stratagems — ancient China's playbook of cunning.Six stratagems for facing an enemy head-on — inventing six hundred miles of land that never existed, vanishing an army behind a road-repair show, watching your enemies burn from across the river, hiding a knife behind a smile, paying an unpayable price to save the future, and picking up a whole province for free on the way past.Chapters:0:00 Set 2 — Stratagems for Confrontation0:02 Stratagem 7 — Create Something From Nothing2:26 Stratagem 8 — Advance Secretly by an Unknown Path4:48 Stratagem 9 — Watch the Fires Burning Across the River7:07 Stratagem 10 — Hide a Knife Behind a Smile9:32 Stratagem 11 — Sacrifice the Plum Tree to Preserve the Peach Tree11:46 Stratagem 12 — Take the Opportunity to Pilfer a GoatFull video series on YouTube: Samdapau

Set 1 of 6 — Stratagems 1–6: the Winning Stratagems.The Thirty-Six Stratagems — ancient China's playbook of cunning.Six stratagems for battles you intend to win — crossing the sea under the emperor's nose, saving an ally by striking his enemy's capital, killing with a borrowed knife, resting while your enemy exhausts himself, looting the house that is already burning, and shouting east while you strike west.Chapters:0:00 Set 1 — Stratagems for Winning Battles0:02 Stratagem 1 — Deceive Heaven to Cross the Sea2:20 Stratagem 2 — Besiege Wei to Rescue Zhao4:32 Stratagem 3 — Kill with a Borrowed Knife6:49 Stratagem 4 — Wait at Ease for the Exhausted Enemy9:12 Stratagem 5 — Loot a Burning House11:41 Stratagem 6 — Shout in the East, Strike in the WestFull video series on YouTube: Samdapau