The collective name for a famous set of Chinese military and political tactics; also used to mean all possible schemes or a wide variety of tricks. The final and most well-known tactic in this set is 走为上计 zǒu​wéi​shàng​jì.

escaping or avoiding a difficult situation is the best strategy; one of the thirty-six stratagems, it suggests that when all else fails, retreat is the best option