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The Research on the Stratagem of Pretended Surrender



Author(s)

XING Cheng

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DOI:10.17265/2328-2177/2025.08.004

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong SAR, China

Pretended surrender is a kind of traditional stratagem which was commonly seen in the war history of ancient China. As a matter of fact, it is a kind of special psychological tactic, making full use of the enemy’s carelessness. In the war culture of ancient China, strategic deception is one of the most important parts. In history, ancient Chinese military strategists developed many kinds of strategic deceptions in the process of the wars. Pretended surrender is one of the most basic ones. Though it looks simple, this stratagem requires the users to have really excellent psychological analysis ability and acting skill so that they can successfully fool their enemy. This stratagem appeared in ancient China in a very early time. With time going by, it developed some new forms, letting the battlefields become more inscrutable. However, this stratagem has its basic logic. After knowing this logic, we can easily see through most of the stratagems of pretended surrender. This stratagem is still of great use in today’s political struggles and commercial warfare.

stratagem, pretended surrender, psychological tactic