"Building the Plank Road in the Open" originates from the Basic Annals of Emperor Gaozu in the Records of the Grand Historian. It originally refers to how Liu Bang, during the Chu-Han Contention, deliberately and openly repaired the burned plank road, creating the false impression that he would attack along the original route, while in fact secretly launching a surprise attack through the small path at Chencang, successfully deceiving Xiang Yu's army. The core meaning of this idiom is: using overt public action to conceal one's true intention or plan, thereby achieving a surprise effect. It is often used in military, political, commercial competition, or everyday strategy to describe the tactic of making a feint to the east while attacking in the west, or using false appearances to mask reality. In terms of emotional coloring, this idiom is mostly neutral or positive, emphasizing wisdom and strategy rather than mere deception. When used, it usually refers to one party misleading an opponent by creating a false impression so as to carry out the real action in secret. Its cultural background reflects the idea in ancient Chinese military science that "war knows no objection to deception," and it is often used together with "secretly crossing at Chencang" to form a complete expression of a stratagem.
📝 Example
1. The company feigned one thing while secretly doing another, publicly announcing that it would vigorously develop the low-end market, but in reality secretly investing huge sums in researching and developing high-end products, ultimately capturing the high-end sector in one fell swoop. (In this sentence, "feigning one thing while secretly doing another" refers to using overt false actions to conceal a true business strategy.)
2. During the negotiations, he feigned one thing while secretly doing another, deliberately proposing a harsh condition to attract the other party's attention, while the real concession plan had already been settled through private communication. (In this sentence, "feigning one thing while secretly doing another" refers to using a superficially tough stance to conceal true intentions to compromise.)