shēng声sounddōng东eastjī击strikexī西west
Make noise east, strike west — feint to distract, attack elsewhere.
Literal meaning
sound (声) — east (东) — strike (击) — west (西)
Origin
A classical military stratagem listed in the Thirty-Six Strategies (《三十六计》). The principle: distract the enemy's attention to one direction, then strike from the opposite. Used since for any feint-based tactic.
Examples
Tā他shēng声dōng东jī击xī西，bǎ把zhù注yì意lì力yǐn引kāi开le了。
He drew attention one way and struck from the other.
Shēng声dōng东jī击xī西shì是cháng常jiàn见de的zhàn战shù术。
Feinting one way and striking the other is a common tactic.
Usage & nuances
Strategic / tactical register. Works for war, sports, politics, debates.
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