What Were The Chinese Scheming?

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The greatest victory is won before the battle begins.

More than two thousand years ago, Sun Tzu’s The Art of War argued that strength alone was never enough. The intelligent strategist shaped conditions first—disrupting alliances, controlling information, protecting supplies and persuading the enemy to make precisely the wrong decision. These ideas still appear in military academies, boardrooms, sports and negotiations around the world.

But Sun Tzu was only the beginning.

Chinese history is filled with generals, ministers, diplomats and spies who turned disadvantage into opportunity. Sun Bin rescued one state by attacking another. Han Xin placed a river behind his own soldiers and made retreat impossible. Guan Zhong tried to kill a future ruler, then became the minister who transformed his kingdom. Tian Dan used fire, cattle and carefully cultivated panic to recover a state that had almost disappeared.

Then there is Zhuge Liang, sitting above the gates of an apparently undefended city and calmly playing music while an enemy army approaches. The famous Empty Fort Strategy is probably more legend than documented history—but it reveals what generations of Chinese readers admired most: a strategist whose reputation could perform the work of missing soldiers.

Discover the schemes inside:

Sun Tzu and the mystery of The Art of War — was Master Sun one historical strategist, several thinkers or the name attached to an evolving military tradition?

The second Master Sun — Sun Bin, whose long-lost military text was rediscovered in a tomb in 1972 beside a copy of The Art of War

Winning somewhere else — why Sun Bin saved Zhao by attacking Wei instead of marching directly toward the crisis

The Empty Fort Strategy — how Zhuge Liang’s fictional reputation became one of the most enduring lessons in psychological warfare

Arrows, fire and frightened cattle — the spectacular schemes of the Three Kingdoms and Warring States, carefully separated into history, tradition and literary invention

Spies, rumours and poisoned information — how Chinese strategists attacked the decisions behind an army rather than merely the soldiers in front of it

The Thirty-Six Stratagems — from hiding a dagger behind a smile to removing the ladder after the enemy climbs

The danger of winning too well — why victorious generals sometimes became more frightening to their rulers than the enemies they had defeated

More than a history of warfare, What Were the Chinese Scheming? explores the Chinese tradition of thinking about timing, deception, logistics, diplomacy, reputation and strategic advantage. It also asks a harder question: when does cleverness become self-defeating, and when is the wisest strategy simply to stop treating everyone as an opponent?

Witty, vivid and illustrated throughout, this is an entertaining introduction to Sun Tzu, ancient Chinese strategy, the Three Kingdoms and the remarkable people who learned to win without accepting a fair fight. No prior knowledge required.