“Thirty-Six Stratagems” by Anonymous

[Original Chinese Title: 三十六計 | 三十六计]

Machiavelli’s “The Prince” pales in comparison with this Chinese classic on cunning and duplicitous maneuverings in war and politics.

“Thirty-Six Stratagems” was grounded in ancient Chinese philosophy and tested through many thousand years of political intrigue and warfare in Chinese history, and therefore has more depth and breadth, in my opinion, than Machiavelli’s work, which was based mostly on his own interpretations of cause and effect of historical facts.