暗度陈仓 — “To pretend to do one thing while secretly doing another”

暗度陈仓 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to pretend to do one thing while secretly doing another”. To take a roundabout route to achieve one's aim; to act under cover of a feint. Literally, “secretly cross Chencang”.

Frequency

暗度陈仓 Pronunciation and Pinyin

暗度陈仓 Character Breakdown

Stroke Order

Character	Pinyin	Strokes	Meaning
暗	àn	13	dark, hidden, ignorant
度	dù	9	measure, degree, or pass
陈	chén	8	display, old, state
仓	cāng	4	granary, warehouse, hurriedly

Example Sentence with 暗度陈仓

他们表面上在修缮前门，实际上却在秘密开辟一条新路，这真是暗度陈仓

They pretended to repair the front gate, but in reality, they were secretly opening a new path; this was truly a case of 'secretly crossing Chencang'.

Origin and Story of 暗度陈仓

Pretending to repair the plank road while secretly crossing Chencang' (明修栈道，暗渡陈仓) is a famous successful example in ancient military history. At the end of the Qin Dynasty, political corruption led to various warlords rising up to rebel.

Liu Bang's forces were the first to enter Guanzhong and capture Xianyang. However, the powerful Xiang Yu, after entering Guanzhong, forced Liu Bang to withdraw. At the Feast at Hong Gate, Liu Bang narrowly escaped death.

After this escape, Liu Bang had to lead his troops to Hanzhong. To mislead Xiang Yu, Liu Bang, upon retreating, burned all the plank roads connecting Hanzhong to Guanzhong, signifying that he would not return. However, Liu Bang never for a moment forgot his ambition to defeat Xiang Yu and unify the realm.

In 206 BC, Liu Bang, having gradually strengthened his forces, dispatched General Han Xin to launch an eastern expedition. Before setting out, Han Xin sent many soldiers to repair the burned plank roads, creating the impression that they intended to attack through the original route. Upon hearing this, the Guanzhong defenders closely monitored the progress of the plank road repairs and sent their main forces to reinforce defenses at various key passes along this route, aiming to block the Han army's advance. Han Xin's 'pretending to repair the plank road' tactic proved effective. By drawing the enemy's attention and luring their main forces to the plank road front, Han Xin immediately dispatched his main army to take a detour to Chencang (east of present-day Baoji County, Shaanxi) and launched a surprise attack. He decisively defeated Zhang Han, pacified the Three Qin, and took a crucial step towards Liu Bang's unification of the Central Plains.