苦肉计

苦肉計

kǔròujì

noun #37,682

Measure Word

一条苦肉计 tiáo

Meanings

1 the ruse of injuring oneself to win the enemy's trust
2 self-inflicted-injury stratagem

Characters

Examples

周瑜对黄盖使用了苦肉计。

Zhōu Yú duì Huáng Gài shǐyòng le kǔròujì.

Zhou Yu used the self-injury ruse on Huang Gai.

他在父母面前装病，纯粹是苦肉计。

Tā zài fùmǔ miànqián zhuāng bìng, chúncuì shì kǔròujì.

Pretending to be sick in front of his parents was a pure self-pity stratagem.

Tips

history

The 34th of the Thirty-Six Stratagems (三十六计). The classic illustration is from Romance of the Three Kingdoms: Zhou Yu publicly beat his general Huang Gai so Cao Cao would believe Huang's defection — Huang then sailed fire ships into Cao's fleet at the Battle of Red Cliffs.

usage

Modern usage is extended and often jokey: any tactic where you visibly suffer (skip meals, cry, exaggerate sickness) to manipulate someone else's sympathy.

Stroke Order

苦 kǔ

肉 ròu

计 jì