You Invited Your Replacement | The 36 Stratagems #30 (反客为主)

Every Chinese kid learns the 36 Stratagems. This is #30: 反客为主 (fǎn kè wéi zhǔ), "Turn the guest into the host". Free practice sheet for 反客为主: https://boyi.snsaladdin.com/30/ The old account behind this stratagem is in the Records of the Three Kingdoms. Nearly 1,800 years ago, Liu Zhang, the ruler of Yi Province, fears a stronger army will take his land, and invites Liu Bei in to fight the rival to the north. He welcomes him, sends gifts, and adds troops, until Liu Bei commands more than thirty thousand. At a banquet, an adviser urges Liu Bei to seize the province. He answers: "This is a major matter. It cannot be rushed." He goes north and does not attack the rival. Instead he is recorded as "building up goodwill to win the people's hearts." The record does not say whether this was his plan from the start, so we do not guess. When he asks Liu Zhang for troops and supplies, he gets a fraction, and a letter from one of Liu Zhang's own advisers is exposed. Relations break. Liu Bei marches south, besieges the capital, and Liu Zhang surrenders. In this video: • The story of Liu Bei in Yi Province, from the Records of the Three Kingdoms • A modern company: a six-month consultant, a guest badge, and a board vote • What to put on paper before you invite someone in: authority, term, who owns the clients, and how it ends • Learn 4 Chinese characters: 反 客 为 主 Chapters 0:00 The question 0:46 The story 3:03 A modern dilemma 3:28 How the stratagem works 6:20 The difference 6:55 Learn the Chinese 7:25 Next stratagem Missed #1? You See It Every Day. That's the Problem. —    • Hide in Plain Sight | The 36 Stratagems #1...   Missed #2? You Tried Harder. It Got Worse. —    • Hit Them Where It Hurts | The 36 Stratagem...   Missed #3? They Handed You the Knife. Now It's in Your Hand. —    • Never Be Someone Else's Knife | The 36 Str...   Missed #4? One Call at Nine. You Have Until Morning. —    • Build First, Then Let Them Tire | The 36 S...   Missed #5? The Worst Week of Your Life Is Someone's Best Chance. —    • Never Sign in the Smoke | The 36 Stratagem...   Missed #6? Leather, Mats, Free Service. One Number You Missed. —    • Leather, Mats, Free Service. One Number Yo...   Missed #7? It Was False Twice. You Stopped Looking the Third Time. —    • It Was False Twice. You Stopped Looking th...   Missed #8? Free for 30 Days. Charged Ever Since. —    • Free for 30 Days. Charged Ever Since. | Th...   Missed #9? The More You Ask, the More They Agree. —    • The More You Ask, the More They Agree. | T...   Missed #10? She Was So Kind. Then Your Husband Went Cold. —    • She Was So Kind. Then Your Husband Went Co...   Missed #11? Your Name Was on the List. He Called It Teamwork. —    • Your Name Was on the List. He Called It Te...   Missed #12? You Took the Small Order. The Bill Came Months Later. —    • You Took the Small Order. The Bill Came Mo...   Missed #13? Never Show Your Hand Too Early —    • Never Show Your Hand Too Early | The 36 St...   Missed #14? Same Name, Different Hands —    • Same Name, Different Hands | The 36 Strata...   Missed #15? Never Leave Your Home Turf —    • Never Leave Your Home Turf | The 36 Strata...   Missed #16? Silence Is Not Permission —    • Silence Is Not Permission | The 36 Stratag...   Missed #22? The Door Closed Behind You — Browse the series:    / @yoko-boyi   Thirty down, 6 to go. Subscribe and collect all 36. Story based on the Records of the Three Kingdoms (三国志): the Biography of the First Lord, the Biography of Liu Yan and Liu Zhang, and the Biography of Pang Tong. Original text from the Thirty-Six Stratagems (三十六计). The company example is invented for illustration and is not legal advice. Illustrations and English narration were made with AI tools. Music: Guzheng Morning / Senor Guzheng and the Happy Monks — Antti Luode, CC BY 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/). Sound effects: Freesound CC0 items (taiko.wav by Anuj_Shrestha1) and effects synthesized in-house. Music sources: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gu... ; https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Se... Stroke data: Make Me a Hanzi (Arphic Public License). Fonts: Ma Shan Zheng, Noto Serif SC, Allura (SIL Open Font License 1.1). #36Stratagems #LearnChinese #ChineseHistory