Driving the Tiger to Devour the Wolf
Updated 2026-08-22
INTRODUCTION
English translation pending.
CORE DEFINITION
The strategy means goading one powerful party into attacking another, so that both are worn down while you avoid direct engagement. Its open-logic core is proxy conflict: when your own strength is insufficient or you wish to conserve it, you use inducements to make a third party attack your enemy. The third party may know it is being used, yet still accept the role for the immediate prey. As a model it is ecosystem play, exploiting the contradictions between competitors.
SCAFFOLDING EFFECT
Reduce cognitive load
- Rivalry map: chart which competitors have real friction with each other, not just with you - Inducement design: offer the weaker side something it wants only if it confronts the leader - Balance keeping: supply just enough support that neither rival wins outright
Anchor fast decisions
The ploy converts other parties' hostility into your fighting power. Two rivals who distrust each other will accept aid that targets their enemy, and each exchange weakens both. The proxy's own rationality is hijacked: the immediate prey looms larger than the strategist's hidden benefit, so the conflict continues as long as the bait keeps arriving.
MINIMUM ACTION
In progress 0/1Practice this model in one real situation:
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Source support: Explicit
- zh.wikipedia.orghttps://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%B8%89%E5%9B%BD%E6%BC%94%E4%B9%89verified
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