I haven't intentionally watched a Chinese drama serial on TV in over 20 years, so to make up for lost time, I'm now slogging through this mega set of 28 DVDs, 84 40-minutes episodes of "Love Triangle Between Three Nations" (三国演义）. I now have a better idea of why the Chinese people are unparalleled in their ability to think up the most awesome plots to trick others; it's totally thinking out of the Chinese takeaway box. I reckon it's so much a part of the culture, a 2000-year history that contains such interesting tales of heroes and intriguing battle strategies that folks live their lives or act partly in relation to these ancient stories.
I'm halfway through the DVDs, just finished the Battle of Red Cliffs (赤壁之战) in which the insanely clever master tactician Kong Ming knows that they will be able to trap their enemy Cao Cao, but commands the red faced general Guan Yu to stop him, knowing that Guan Yu will let him off because Cao Cao will appeal to his emotions by citing his past kindness towards Guan Yu. Kong Ming wants to let Cao Cao go because he still needs him to be alive as part of his plan. My shocking reaction was: Has Bush read Triangle before? Where on earth is Bin Laden?!
Anyway, I'm wondering if there are Western stories of a similar nature. I haven't read The Iliad, maybe it also has these sorts of political, military, ridiculously ingenious plans and plots, too?
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