Home » Sunday » Now and Then
无中生有 (wu2 zhong1 sheng1 you3) - Creating something out of nothing
By Zhang Ciyun |
August 17, 2008, Sunday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
The stratagem of "creating something out of nothing" does not simply mean tricks such as the sleight-of-hand performed by magicians. Rather, it is a scheme of creating an illusion of something's existence, or non-existence.
This stratagem had been applied repeatedly in history.
During the An Lushan Rebellion in the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD), the imperial general Zhang Xun and his troops were stationed in Yongqiu, a town under siege by rebel forces led by general Linghu Chao.
Outnumbered 20 to one, General Zhang could not figure out a way to win the battle. Meanwhile, under the rebel forces' repeated attack, Zhang's troops soon ran out of arrows, one of the most effective weapons at that time to defend a besieged town. However, there were not enough raw materials or enough time to make new arrows. In order to replenish his ammunition, General Zhang decided to copy the scheme of famous Chinese strategist Zhuge Liang of "borrowing arrows."
He ordered his troops to make about 1,000 life-sized straw mannequins dressed in black uniforms. When it fell dark, they lowered those dummies down outside the city wall. The rebel forces thought the imperial troops were attempting to launch a night surprise attack and fired thousands of arrows to prevent them from closing in.
After the straw dummies were riddled with arrows, the Zhang troops pulled them back and harvested the free supplies. When the rebel forces realized that they were tricked, it was too late. The next night, the troops again lowered down those dummies, but the rebel forces believed it was the same trick of "borrowing arrows." So, they ignored them and laughed at it.
Seeing that the enemy forces lost in an illusion, Zhang lowered down 500 of his elite troops outside the city wall and launched a blitz attack against the rebels' camps. When the rebel forces saw that those straw dummies turned into real soldiers, it was already too late to put up any effective defense. The rebel forces were crushed and their general Linghu fled the battlefield.
So, the purpose of this stratagem is to make your enemy believe there's something when there is nothing or there's nothing when there is something. When your enemy is thrown into a state of double confusion, you rout him out with all your might.
This stratagem had been applied repeatedly in history.
During the An Lushan Rebellion in the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD), the imperial general Zhang Xun and his troops were stationed in Yongqiu, a town under siege by rebel forces led by general Linghu Chao.
Outnumbered 20 to one, General Zhang could not figure out a way to win the battle. Meanwhile, under the rebel forces' repeated attack, Zhang's troops soon ran out of arrows, one of the most effective weapons at that time to defend a besieged town. However, there were not enough raw materials or enough time to make new arrows. In order to replenish his ammunition, General Zhang decided to copy the scheme of famous Chinese strategist Zhuge Liang of "borrowing arrows."
He ordered his troops to make about 1,000 life-sized straw mannequins dressed in black uniforms. When it fell dark, they lowered those dummies down outside the city wall. The rebel forces thought the imperial troops were attempting to launch a night surprise attack and fired thousands of arrows to prevent them from closing in.
After the straw dummies were riddled with arrows, the Zhang troops pulled them back and harvested the free supplies. When the rebel forces realized that they were tricked, it was too late. The next night, the troops again lowered down those dummies, but the rebel forces believed it was the same trick of "borrowing arrows." So, they ignored them and laughed at it.
Seeing that the enemy forces lost in an illusion, Zhang lowered down 500 of his elite troops outside the city wall and launched a blitz attack against the rebels' camps. When the rebel forces saw that those straw dummies turned into real soldiers, it was already too late to put up any effective defense. The rebel forces were crushed and their general Linghu fled the battlefield.
So, the purpose of this stratagem is to make your enemy believe there's something when there is nothing or there's nothing when there is something. When your enemy is thrown into a state of double confusion, you rout him out with all your might.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
