Chinese Mythology
盘古开天地
Pangu creates the world
女娲造人
Nuwa makes man
女娲补天
Nuwa mends the sky
伏羲的故事
The works of Fuxi
神农的故事
Hail the ‘Divine Farmer’
精卫填海
Jingwei tests the sea
燧人钻木取火
Saved by Fire Fetcher Suiren
夸父追日
Kuafu chases the sun
嫘祖的故事
Tale as smooth as silk
仓颉造字
Birth of a language
后羿射日
Sun-birds bake Earth
嫦娥奔月
Restless Chang’e flees
鲧盗息壤
Gun steals Magic Soil
大禹治水
Yu harnesses flooding
瑶姬的故事
Goddess Peak of Wushan Mountain
牛郎织女
The cowherd and the girl weaver
十二生肖
Zodiac animals
愚公移山
Moving mountains
钟馗的故事
The Demon Queller
Thirty-Six Stratagems
瞒天过海
Deceiving the heavens to cross the sea
围魏救赵
Besieging Wei to save Zhao
借刀杀人
Killing with a borrowed knife
以逸待劳
Waiting at ease for a worn-out enemy
趁火打劫
Looting a house when it’s on fire
声东击西
Making a feint to the east, but hitting out in the west
无中生有
Creating something out of nothing
暗度陈仓
A ruse to divert your enemies
隔岸观火
Watching the fire burning from the other side of the river
笑里藏刀
Hiding a dagger behind a smile
李代桃僵
A plum tree sacrificed to protect the peach tree
顺手牵羊
Pilfering a goat in passing
打草惊蛇
Startling the snake, or not
借尸还魂
The ploy of incarnation
调虎离山
Luring tiger out of the mountains
欲擒故纵
Letting up on your pursuit
抛砖引玉
Throwing out a brick to attract a piece of jade
擒贼擒王
To beat the enemy army, capture their leader first
釜底抽薪
Removing the burning firewood from beneath a boiling cauldron
浑水摸鱼
Fishing in turbid waters
金蝉脱壳
Ruse of the golden cicada
关门捉贼
Shut the door to catch the thief
远交近攻
Making distant states allies while attacking a neighbor
借道伐虢
Defeating one enemy at a time
偷梁换柱
Swapping good wood for bad
指桑骂槐
Achieving the result without waging too many battles
假痴不癫
Feigning weakness to wait for the right time to strike
上屋抽梯
Cutting off escape routes
树上开花
Defending with ‘blossoms’
反客为主
Guest outstaying welcome
美人计
Beaten by womanly wiles
空城计
An empty fortress strategy
反间计
Sowing distrust in enemy camp
苦肉计
When one hurts himself, he is really to hurt his enemy
连环计
Multi-ploy scheme at play
走为上计
When everything fails, retreat