36 Stratagems (三十六計)

My friend Anselm received a book laser-etched on bamboo:

AFABB10E-5365-4E69-BB25-B7A0A357EC33.jpg

A student of mine from China gave me this handsome box today. It proved to contain a bamboo book — of a style common in China before the 2nd century BC invention of mulberry leaf paper. On each stave of the book is a verse from the 36 Stratagems, a traditional volume of military/diplomatic maxims and explanations. Traditionally, an orally transmitted example went along with each verse; nowadays examples are as likely to come from World War II and the Long March as from classical Chinese history.

Naturally, he’s making his own now.

This entry was posted in links and tagged , , . Bookmark the permalink. Both comments and trackbacks are currently closed.