纵横捭阖

縱橫捭闔
zònghéngbǎihé
idiom

Meanings

  1. 1 political maneuvering and alliance-building
  2. 2 to operate skillfully in politics or diplomacy
  3. 3 to deploy shifting strategies

Examples

Tā zài shāngchǎng shàng zòng héng bǎi hé, jiànlì le pángdà de shāngyè dìguó.
He maneuvered skillfully in business and built a vast empire.
Zhànguó cèshì zòng héng bǎi hé yú zhūhóu zhī jiān.
Warring States strategists worked their maneuvers among the feudal lords.

Tips

history
纵横 refers to the rival diplomatic schools of the Warring States: Su Qin's (vertical alliance of six states against Qin) vs Zhang Yi's (horizontal alliance with Qin). comes from the Guiguzi text on persuasion.

Stroke Order

zòng
héng
bǎi