Definition
暗度陈仓 is a chengyu (four-character idiom) from the story of Han Xin in the Chu-Han Contention. Literally 'to secretly cross at Chencang', it means to do one thing openly to distract attention while secretly achieving a different goal — the classic 'feint and strike' strategy. It's used in military, business, and competitive contexts to describe deceptive tactics.
idiom
to feign one action while secretly achieving anotherto do something under cover of a diversion
Examples
- ，暗度陈仓，。Tā biǎomiàn shàng zài tánpàn, shíjì shì àn dù, ànzhōng liánxì le duìfāng de duìshǒu.On the surface he was negotiating, but actually he was secretly contacting the other side's opponent — a classic feint.
- ，暗度陈仓，。Zhè chǎng shāngyè jìngzhēng, tāmen yòng le àn dù de cèlüè, chénggōng qiǎngzhàn le shìchǎng.In this business competition, they used a 'feint and strike' strategy and successfully captured the market.
- ，暗度陈仓。Zhànzhēng zhōng, àn dù shì chángyòng de jìmóu zhī yī.In warfare, 'secretly crossing at Chencang' is one of the commonly used stratagems.
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