声东击西
- Literal
- to make noise in the east and strike in the west
- Figurative
- To feign an attack in one direction and strike in another: to pull your opponent's attention one way and move where nobody is looking.
Where does 声东击西 come from?
There is no protagonist behind this one, but a military principle set down in writing. Du You, a Tang-dynasty official, states it in the military section of his encyclopedia 《通典》: to announce loudly that you are attacking in the east when the real attack comes in the west. The point is to make the enemy believe the blow will fall in one place, so that he masses his forces there and leaves the real target uncovered. The maneuver was later counted among the Thirty-Six Stratagems, and today it is used far from any battlefield: in negotiations, in politics, in a ball game.
Source (出处): 杜佑《通典》
How is 声东击西 used? Two examples
- 他先大张旗鼓地查考勤，其实是声东击西，真正要查的是账目。
He made a big show of auditing attendance, but that was the feint — what he really wanted to look at were the accounts.
- 这支球队常用声东击西的战术，防守很难跟上。
This team often feints one way and attacks the other, and defenses have a hard time keeping up.
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