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借刀杀人 (jie4 dao1 sha1 ren2) - Killing with a borrowed knife
By Zhang Ciyun |
July 20, 2008, Sunday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
Killing with a borrowed knife sounds like a ploy to cover one's tracks in order to mislead the hunters looking for the real perpetrator. However, the true meaning of this stratagem is to attack your enemy by using the forces or strength of a third party, or to entice your ally into attacking your enemy instead of doing it yourself.
Here is an example that is frequently cited to illustrate this scheme.
In the late years of the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC), the duke of the State of Qi decided to attack the State of Lu, which was obviously not a match for the Qi forces.
Lu was the home state of Confucius, the famous Chinese philosopher. So, Confucius sent one of his favorite disciples Zi Gong to help the ruler of Lu.
Zi Gong understood very well that Lu was too weak to defend itself in face of the invasion of Qi troops. So he went to the State of Wu, one of the big powers at that time, and used his facile tongue to persuade the Wu duke to attack the State of Qi.
His argument was that once the Qi troops conquered the State of Lu, Qi would become stronger, thus a new threat to the security of the State of Wu.
The duke of Wu had long harbored an ambition to become a superpower, so he agreed to join forces with Lu and launch a military offensive against Qi.
While the joint forces were preparing to move into the State of Qi, Zi Gong sneaked into another big power the State of Jin to warn the duke there that the Wu army might turn to attack his state once it won the war with the State of Qi. He urged the Jin duke to get ready for a battle with the Wu troops.
Zi Gong's logic here was that after winning the war with Qi, the Wu duke would very likely try to wring more concessions from the State of Lu. The only way to avoid that was to hand Wu a military setback.
Everything turned out as Zi Gong expected. The Wu troops won a big victory in battling the Qi army, but suffered a fiasco at the hands of the Jin troops.
During the process, Zi Gong borrowed the "knife" of the State of Wu to help the State of Lu fend off an imminent invasion from Qi troops and used the "knife" of the State of Jin to weaken the status of Wu as a big power overshadowing the State of Lu. Finally, the State of Lu survived a big crisis and suffered little losses, all thanks to the "borrowed knives."
Here is an example that is frequently cited to illustrate this scheme.
In the late years of the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC), the duke of the State of Qi decided to attack the State of Lu, which was obviously not a match for the Qi forces.
Lu was the home state of Confucius, the famous Chinese philosopher. So, Confucius sent one of his favorite disciples Zi Gong to help the ruler of Lu.
Zi Gong understood very well that Lu was too weak to defend itself in face of the invasion of Qi troops. So he went to the State of Wu, one of the big powers at that time, and used his facile tongue to persuade the Wu duke to attack the State of Qi.
His argument was that once the Qi troops conquered the State of Lu, Qi would become stronger, thus a new threat to the security of the State of Wu.
The duke of Wu had long harbored an ambition to become a superpower, so he agreed to join forces with Lu and launch a military offensive against Qi.
While the joint forces were preparing to move into the State of Qi, Zi Gong sneaked into another big power the State of Jin to warn the duke there that the Wu army might turn to attack his state once it won the war with the State of Qi. He urged the Jin duke to get ready for a battle with the Wu troops.
Zi Gong's logic here was that after winning the war with Qi, the Wu duke would very likely try to wring more concessions from the State of Lu. The only way to avoid that was to hand Wu a military setback.
Everything turned out as Zi Gong expected. The Wu troops won a big victory in battling the Qi army, but suffered a fiasco at the hands of the Jin troops.
During the process, Zi Gong borrowed the "knife" of the State of Wu to help the State of Lu fend off an imminent invasion from Qi troops and used the "knife" of the State of Jin to weaken the status of Wu as a big power overshadowing the State of Lu. Finally, the State of Lu survived a big crisis and suffered little losses, all thanks to the "borrowed knives."
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