What is Stratagem (计谋)?

A carefully devised plan or scheme, especially for achieving a military or strategic advantage. In Sun Tzu's Art of War, stratagem is the primary means of victory — using deception, indirection, and psychological advantage to overcome an opponent without direct confrontation. The Thirty-Six Stratagems, a later Chinese text, codified strategic ruses into a system of practical wisdom.

Key Takeaways

  • Sun Tzu's Art of War treats stratagem as the primary means of victory, preferring deception, indirection, and winning without direct battle over costly confrontation.
  • The Thirty-Six Stratagems, a later Chinese collection, organizes ruses into six categories — including 胜战计 (winning-strategy), 敌战计 (confrontation-strategy), and 攻战计 (attack-strategy) — with famous items such as 瞒天过海 ("cross the sea by deceiving the sky") and 声东击西 ("make a feint to the east and strike west").
  • In the Art of War stratagem is grounded in relative strength: Sun Tzu's "five fundamentals" (五事) put moral influence, climate, terrain, command, and method ahead of any single trick.
  • Chinese: 计谋 (Stratagem).

Understanding Stratagem

In the Art of War, stratagem is not a separate trick applied on top of sound preparation; it is woven into the whole art of judging a situation. Sun Tzu's first chapter, "Laying Plans" (始计), opens by weighing the five fundamentals (五事) — moral influence (道), climate (天), terrain (地), command (将), and method (法) — and the seven calculations that follow from them. The central strategic precept of the book, stated in the third chapter, is that the supreme excellence lies not in winning every battle but in subduing the enemy without fighting at all. Deception belongs to this larger plan: the Art of War's most quoted line, "all warfare is based on deception," sits inside a framework that measures strength and conditions before any ruse is tried. The Thirty-Six Stratagems, an anonymous later text conventionally dated to the Ming dynasty, turned this tradition into a numbered catalogue of ruses grouped under six headings — 胜战计 (winning-strategy), 敌战计 (confrontation-strategy), 攻战计 (attack-strategy), and three more — each named by a four-character motto such as 瞒天过海 (to cross the sea by deceiving the sky) and 声东击西 (to make a feint to the east and strike west). Where the Art of War embeds deception in the assessment of strength and opportunity, the Thirty-Six Stratagems isolates the ruse itself as the unit of practical wisdom.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is Stratagem in Art of War?

In the Art of War a stratagem (计谋) is a planned indirection by which a commander wins without exhausting the army in direct battle. Sun Tzu's third chapter gives the governing idea: the supreme excellence is to subdue the enemy without fighting, using deception and the superior positioning of the five fundamentals (五事) rather than sheer force.

What does 计谋 mean?

计谋 (jìmóu) is the Chinese term for a "stratagem" or "scheme," combining 计 (jì, "plan" or "tally") with 谋 (móu, "to devise" or "counsel"). It heads the opening of the Art of War's first chapter, "Laying Plans" (始计), and in the Thirty-Six Stratagems each numbered ruse is a 计, such as 瞒天过海 (cross the sea by deceiving the sky).

Why is Stratagem important?

Stratagem matters in the Art of War because it is the means by which the weak can prevail over the strong and the costly battle can be avoided. Sun Tzu grounds the ruse in careful assessment — the five fundamentals (五事) and the seven calculations opened in the first chapter — and pairs deception with the ideal of winning without fighting. The Thirty-Six Stratagems later organized this tradition into a numbered system whose mottos, such as 声东击西 (make a feint to the east and strike west), remain part of everyday Chinese strategic vocabulary.

Also Known As

Chinese: 计谋. 计谋, Ji Mou