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Story collection

🌀 Chaos Stratagems (混战计)

Six guided readings in the HSK 4 support band for confusing situations and many-sided conflict.

6 stories
Supports HSK 4Text HSK 4+

Pull the Firewood from Under the Cauldron

釜底抽薪

Read how Cao Cao won a hard war by attacking the enemy's source of strength, and learn the idiom 釜底抽薪 for solving problems at the root.

5 min12 wordsNot started
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Supports HSK 4Text HSK 4+

Fish in Troubled Waters

混水摸鱼

Discover the idiom 混水摸鱼 and how people use confusion to gain an advantage, with a short story and modern examples.

4 min12 wordsNot started
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Supports HSK 4Text HSK 4+

The Golden Cicada Sheds Its Shell

金蝉脱壳

Read the story behind 金蝉脱壳, a stratagem about leaving a false appearance while you escape, with examples learners can use today.

5 min11 wordsNot started
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Supports HSK 4Text HSK 4+

Close the Door to Catch the Thief

关门捉贼

Learn 关门捉贼, a stratagem about cutting off escape routes, through a clear graded story and everyday examples.

4 min12 wordsNot started
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Supports HSK 4Text HSK 4+

Befriend the Distant, Attack the Near

远交近攻

See how the state of Qin used 远交近攻 to grow its power, and how the idea still appears in business and life today.

6 min12 wordsNot started
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Supports HSK 4Text HSK 4+

Borrow a Passage to Attack Guo

假途伐虢

Read the classic story of 假途伐虢, where one state used a neighbor's road and then took both neighbors, with modern lessons.

6 min12 wordsNot started
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