Cognitive Scaffold

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MENTAL MODEL · M1562

Secretly Crossing the Chencang

Secretly Crossing the Chencang
BusinessHigh supportStrategic Management
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Version 1.0.0 · Updated 2026-07-28

CORE DEFINITION

Secretly Crossing the Chencang is the eighth stratagem of the Thirty-Six Stratagems, which involves concealing the attack route in war, secretly making a detour to attack the enemy's rear, catching them off guard and defeating them. Chencang is an ancient place name, now Baoji City in Shaanxi Province. The original text reads: 'Display movement to the east, but attack from the west; take advantage of the enemy's stillness and resolve, and move with agility.' This stratagem uses the enemy's confusion caused by our feigned attacks and movements to exploit their weaknesses and achieve a surprise victory. Later, 'Secretly Crossing the Chencang' became an idiom, meaning to use obvious, irrelevant actions to divert attention while secretly taking other actions to achieve one's goals. In modern times, it also carries connotations of illicit affairs or illegal activities.

SCAFFOLDING EFFECT

psychology

Reduce cognitive load

Secretly Crossing the Chencang is the eighth stratagem of the Thirty-Six Stratagems, which involves concealing the attack route in war, secretly making a detour to attack the enemy's rear, catching them off guard and defeating them. Chencang is an ancient place name, now Baoji City in Shaanxi Province. The original text reads: 'Display movement to the east, but attack from the west; take advantage of the enemy's stillness and resolve, and move with agility.' This stratagem uses the enemy's confusion caused by our feigned attacks and movements to exploit their weaknesses and achieve a surprise victory. Later, 'Secretly Crossing the Chencang' became an idiom, meaning to use obvious, irrelevant actions to divert attention while secretly taking other actions to achieve one's goals.

anchor

Anchor fast decisions

One of the Thirty-Six Stratagems: openly repair the plank road to attract attention while secretly sending troops via Chencang. The mechanism is to use public actions to create a false impression, masking the true main attack direction.

MINIMUM ACTION

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Source support: Explicit

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    zh.wikipedia.orghttps://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%9A%97%E6%B8%A1%E9%99%88%E4%BB%93ZH · Explicit
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