Chuko Liang would never do work that others could do for him—he was always thinking up tricks like this one. The key to planning such a strategy is the ability to think far ahead, to imagine ways in which other people can be baited into doing the job for you.

One should not be too straightforward. Go and see the forest. The straight trees are cut down, the crooked ones are left standing.

A queen must never dirty her hands with ugly tasks, nor can a king appear in public with blood on his face.

Never argue. In society nothing must be discussed; give only results.

Half of your mastery of power comes from what you do not do, what you do not allow yourself to get dragged into. For this skill you must learn to judge all things by what they cost you. As Nietzsche wrote, “The value of a thing sometimes lies not in what one attains with it, but in what one pays for it—what it costs us.” Perhaps you will attain

“The laws that govern circumstances are abolished by new circumstances,”

The greatest danger occurs at the moment of victory.

In evolution, largeness is often the first step toward extinction. What is immense and bloated has no mobility, but must constantly feed itself.

There is nothing more intoxicating than victory, and nothing more dangerous.