三十六计

三十六計

sān shí liù jì

Meanings

CC-CEDICT

sān shí liù jì

1.The Thirty-Six Stratagems, a Chinese essay used to illustrate a series of stratagems used in politics, war, and in civil interaction
2.all the possible schemes and stratagems

CC-CEDICT · CC BY-SA

Wiktionary

1.Thirty-Six Stratagems

Wiktionary · CC BY-SA

Etymology

The first mention is found in the Book of Southern Qi: : The number thirty-six here is likely a figure of speech meant to denote "numerous stratagems" instead of any specific number. On the other hand, the current Thirty-Six Stratagems is based on a book with the same title published in 1941 that claims to be a reprint of a book discovered at a bookstall in Bin County (邠縣／邠县), Shaanxi that contains the thirty-six stratagems.

Wiktionary · CC BY-SA