They Bought Your Neighbor First | The 36 Stratagems #23 (远交近攻)

Every Chinese kid learns the 36 Stratagems. This is #23: 远交近攻 (yuǎn jiāo jìn gōng), "Befriend the far. Take the near." Free practice sheet for 远交近攻: https://boyi.snsaladdin.com/23/ The old book Shiji says this happened more than twenty-two hundred years ago. One state in the west wanted to attack a state far to the east, but two other states sat in between. A man who had come from the east went to see the king of Qin. Marching past other states to hit a far one, he said, is not a plan. Send a small army and you cannot hurt your target. Send a big one and it costs you more than it costs them. His example: the last king of Qi went south, beat Chu, and opened a thousand li of ground. He kept none of it. It was too far, and while Qi was tired, everyone else came for Qi. The book calls that lending the thief weapons and feeding the robber from your own store. So the adviser put it in four words: befriend the far, take the near. Be good to the near neighbors first, then the far ones start to worry, and once the far one is settled, the near ones can be taken. The king made him an adviser that day. Wei was taken first, Huai fell, and two years later, Xingqiu. Not the far one. Not yet. The near ones came first, because the near ones can be kept. In this video: • The true story behind Stratagem #23 (an adviser walks into the court of Qin, over 2,200 years ago) • Why the big company never came to you, and went to your neighbors first • Why the near is taken first, and what to ask before you sign a far-away deal • Learn 4 Chinese characters: 远 交 近 攻 Chapters 0:00 The question 0:46 The story 2:44 A modern dilemma 3:18 How the stratagem works 5:43 The difference 6:14 Learn the Chinese 6:51 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   Twenty-three down, thirteen to go. Subscribe and collect all 36. Story based on Shiji (史记, the Biographies of Fan Ju and Cai Ze). Original text from the Thirty-Six Stratagems (三十六计). 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