shí liù zì juédictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
16-character formula, esp. Mao Zedong's mantra on guerrilla warfare: 敵進我退,敵駐我擾,敵疲我打,敵退我追|敌进我退,敌驻我扰,敌疲我打,敌退我追[dí jìn wǒ tuì , dí zhù wǒ rǎo , dí pí wǒ dǎ , dí tuì wǒ zhuī] when the enemy advances we retreat; when the enemy makes camp we harass; when the enemy is exhausted we fight; and when the enemy retreats we pursue
Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-c0cb64aec0fa1ab5. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

十六字訣 十六字诀 [shi2 liu4 zi4 jue2] /16-character formula, esp. Mao Zedong's mantra on guerrilla warfare: 敵進我退,敵駐我擾,敵疲我打,敵退我追|敌进我退,敌驻我扰,敌疲我打,敌退我追[di2 jin4 wo3 tui4 , di2 zhu4 wo3 rao3 , di2 pi2 wo3 da3 , di2 tui4 wo3 zhui1] when the enemy advances we retreat; when the enemy makes camp we harass; when the enemy is exhausted we fight; and when the enemy retreats we pursue/

Source material and teaching drafts have separate provenance. Long-term commercial licensing remains under review.

Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

Other forms in these source records: 十六字訣

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

十六字诀
Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.