The Book of Swindles
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騙經 Piàn Jīng — Zhang Yingyu 張應俞 — c. 1617
The Book of Swindles
The first Chinese collection devoted entirely to fraud — eighty-four tales of criminal ingenuity across twenty-four categories of deception, compiled during the commercial explosion of the late Ming dynasty.
杜騙新書 — Published c. 1617, Fujian province84 tales across 24 categoriesZhang Yingyu (fl. 1612–1617)
"We live in an age of deception. Words and appearances mislead. Con artists prey on the unwary. The halls of power are choked with hypocrites, and the markets teem with frauds. Every stranger is a potential enemy, and one steps out the door at one's peril."
— Zhang Yingyu, Preface to The Book of Swindles
What is the Book of Swindles about
The Book of Swindles is the world's first published collection of stories devoted entirely to fraud. Written by the obscure Zhang Yingyu and published in Fujian province around 1617, during the Wanli period of the Ming dynasty, it catalogs eighty-four tales of deception organized into twenty-four categories — classified by the method of the con, the type of perpetrator, or the setting of the crime.
The book emerged from a specific historical moment: the late Ming commercial explosion. China's economy was rapidly expanding, creating overnight fortunes for merchants and traders. But this new wealth also attracted a vast ecosystem of con artists, charlatans, forgers, imposters, and swindlers. The roads, rivers, and markets of southern China — the space the Chinese call jianghu (江湖, "the rivers and lakes") — became a landscape of both extraordinary opportunity and constant peril. Trust was the currency, and fraud was the tax on every transaction.
Zhang Yingyu presented his book as a manual for self-protection — a guide to recognizing and avoiding the countless forms of deception that threatened merchants, travelers, officials, and ordinary people in this rapidly changing world. But the book functions equally well as a manual for swindlers, because Zhang's commentary alternates between condemning the crooks and admiring their ingenuity. He is simultaneously moralist and connoisseur — lamenting the decline of trust while cataloging the art of its violation with unmistakable relish.
Each tale follows a consistent structure: a swindler encounters a mark (either a naive "greenhorn" or an experienced "old hand"), executes a scheme that exploits the victim's greed, vanity, ignorance, or trust, and either succeeds spectacularly or is foiled by a shrewder opponent. Zhang then appends a moral commentary — sometimes blaming the victim for their foolishness, sometimes praising the swindler's craft, always extracting a lesson about human nature. The stories span every level of society: government officials, examination candidates, merchants, brokers, monks, priests, soldiers, women, eunuchs, and wandering criminals. Nobody is safe; everybody is a potential victim or perpetrator.
What makes the Book of Swindles remarkable — and why it resonates four centuries later — is its central insight: the mechanisms of deception are universal and timeless. The specific cons may involve Ming dynasty silver currency and imperial examination bribes, but the psychological vulnerabilities they exploit — greed, vanity, trust in authority, desire for shortcuts, fear of missing out — are identical to those targeted by modern fraud. Every Ponzi scheme, every phishing email, every too-good-to-be-true investment has a direct ancestor in Zhang Yingyu's catalog.
The twenty-four categories of swindle
Categories 1–6
Theft, deception, and the manipulation of trust
The first group of categories covers the most fundamental forms of fraud: physical theft through misdirection, confidence tricks using planted objects, exploitation of currency exchange, misrepresentation through forged documents, abuse of social relationships, and the manipulation of commercial intermediaries.
01
Misdirection and theft
Sleight-of-hand cons where the swindler uses a visible decoy to distract attention while the real theft happens elsewhere. A horse is used to distract while silk is stolen; a goose is the spectacle while cloth disappears. The principle: attention is finite, and wherever you direct it, you create a blind spot.
In business & life
Every flashy distraction — a competitor's press release, a vendor's dramatic demo — may be hiding the real action happening elsewhere. Ask: what am I not looking at while I'm watching this?
When someone makes a dramatic gesture, consider what it might be drawing your attention away from. Misdirection is the oldest trick because it never stops working.
02
The bag drop
A swindler drops a bag of apparent valuables in the victim's path, then approaches as a "fellow finder" to propose splitting the contents. The bag contains worthless items or leads to a scheme where the victim pays for the privilege of keeping "their share." The principle: apparent good fortune that finds you uninvited is almost always a trap.
In business & life
Unsolicited opportunities that seem too good to be true — the cold email promising extraordinary returns, the stranger offering a "partnership" — are modern bag drops. Due diligence is the only defense.
When something valuable appears to fall into your lap for no reason, ask why. Legitimate opportunity rarely arrives without context. The universe does not send free money to strangers.
03
Money changing
Exploiting the complexity of currency exchange — substituting counterfeit coins, manipulating exchange rates, or using sleight of hand during the counting process. The principle: wherever value is being converted from one form to another, there is an opportunity for fraud.
In business & life
Every point of value conversion — currency exchange, contract renegotiation, merger accounting, equity dilution — is a point of vulnerability. Verify independently at every transition.
Be most vigilant at moments of change — moving money, signing contracts, converting assets. The complexity of the transition itself is what creates the opportunity for manipulation.
04
Misrepresentation
Forged letters, fabricated credentials, fake seals, and invented authority. Swindlers create false documents that grant them access, credibility, or resources they do not deserve. The principle: people trust documents and credentials more than they trust their own judgment.
In business & life
Verify credentials independently. The most convincing-looking resume, the most official-seeming letter of introduction, the most authoritative-sounding reference can all be fabricated. Trust but verify — always.
Don't accept claims of authority, connection, or expertise at face value. The world is full of people who present credentials they don't hold and claim relationships they don't have.
05
False relations
Claiming familial, social, or professional connections that don't exist in order to gain trust and access. Swindlers pose as relatives, old friends, former classmates, or associates of powerful figures. The principle: people let their guard down around those they believe are connected to their social network.
In business & life
Name-dropping is the oldest form of social engineering. When someone claims to know your boss, your investor, or your client — verify the connection before granting access or trust.
Just because someone claims to know someone you know does not make them trustworthy. The false relation exploit works because we extend trust transitively — and swindlers know this.
06
Brokers
Corrupt intermediaries who manipulate both buyer and seller for their own profit. Brokers occupy a position of trust between two parties and exploit the information asymmetry this creates. The principle: anyone who controls the flow of information between two parties can exploit both.
In business & life
Intermediaries — agents, brokers, consultants, recruiters — serve a function but also create risk. Verify what they tell each side independently. The honest broker is valuable; the dishonest one is devastating.
Beware of anyone who positions themselves as the sole conduit between you and someone else. Direct communication eliminates the intermediary's ability to manipulate both parties.
Categories 7–12
Greed, vanity, and the exploitation of desire
The second group exploits the victim's own desires: the lure of gambling, the desire to appear wealthy, the hunger for easy riches, and the vulnerabilities created by travel — particularly on the rivers and waterways that were Ming China's commercial arteries.
07
Enticement to gambling
Luring victims into rigged games by first letting them win small amounts, then escalating the stakes once they're committed. The principle: small early wins are the most effective bait for catastrophic later losses.
In business & life
Any arrangement that delivers easy early returns before requiring larger commitments should trigger scrutiny. The Ponzi scheme's genius is that early investors are paid with later investors' money — the early wins are real, which makes the later losses invisible.
Beware of anything that gives you quick, easy initial success. It may be building the confidence that leads to a much larger commitment — and a much larger loss.
08
Showing off wealth
Swindlers who dress in expensive clothes, display luxury goods, or impersonate wealthy officials to gain trust and access. People extend credit, hospitality, and opportunities to those who appear rich. The principle: the appearance of wealth generates real trust.
In business & life
Flashy offices, luxury watches, and expensive cars are not proof of business success — they are often the tools of the con. Evaluate substance, not presentation. The most dangerous fraudsters are the ones who look most successful.
Do not extend trust based on appearances of prosperity. Wealth is easy to simulate; character is not. Judge people by their actions over time, not their accessories in the moment.
09
Scheming for wealth
Elaborate cons designed to steal large sums — often involving multiple conspirators, staged scenarios, and prolonged deception. These are the grand heists of the Ming underworld. The principle: the bigger the scheme, the more trust it requires — and the more devastatingly it violates that trust.
In business & life
The most damaging business frauds are not smash-and-grab operations — they are long, patient infiltrations built on carefully constructed trust. Enron, Wirecard, FTX — all relied on years of trust-building before the collapse.
The people who betray you most painfully are not strangers — they are those who invested time in earning your trust specifically so they could exploit it.
10
Robbery
Direct theft through force, threat, or the exploitation of vulnerable situations — particularly targeting travelers on remote roads. The principle: isolation multiplies vulnerability.
In business & life
Businesses that operate in isolation — without advisors, without auditors, without external oversight — are the most vulnerable to predation. Transparency is a form of security.
Travel in company. Seek counsel. Never put yourself in a position where you are the only one who knows what's happening with your assets, your plans, or your safety.
11
Violence
Fraud backed by physical intimidation or the threat of force. The swindler uses fear to prevent the victim from resisting or reporting the crime. The principle: the combination of deception and intimidation is more powerful than either alone.
In business & life
Coercive business practices — aggressive NDAs, threatening litigation, intimidating retaliation — are the corporate equivalent. Recognize when fear is being used to prevent you from exercising your rights or judgment.
Anyone who combines charm with threat is using the most dangerous manipulation pattern. A relationship that alternates between warmth and intimidation is not a relationship — it is a con.
12
On boats
Cons that exploit the unique vulnerabilities of river and canal travel — where victims are confined, isolated from help, and surrounded by strangers in a space controlled by the boat operator. The principle: when you are on someone else's territory, with no escape, you are maximally vulnerable.
In business & life
Any situation where you are on someone else's platform, using their infrastructure, bound by their terms — and unable to easily leave — replicates the "boat" dynamic. Cloud providers, marketplace platforms, exclusive partnerships: understand the lock-in before you board.
Never enter a situation — financial, relational, or physical — where your ability to leave is controlled by the other party. The moment you cannot exit, you have lost all leverage.
Categories 13–18
Institutional fraud and the exploitation of social structures
The third group moves from individual cons to institutional exploitation — fraud that targets or operates through China's social structures: the literary examination system, government bureaucracy, the institution of marriage, and the complex dynamics of gender and desire.
13
Poetry
Literary fraud — forged poems, fake literary credentials, plagiarized works used to gain social status or examination success. In Ming China, literary skill was a path to political power, making it a high-value target for forgery. The principle: any system that rewards credentials creates an industry of counterfeit credentials.
In business & life
Fake degrees, fabricated portfolios, plagiarized work, AI-generated credentials — the modern equivalents are everywhere. Any system that rewards proof of competence over demonstrated competence will be gamed.
Be skeptical of impressive claims that lack verifiable evidence. The eloquent speaker may have borrowed their eloquence; the credentialed expert may have purchased their credentials.
14
Fake silver
Counterfeiting currency — the most fundamental form of financial fraud. In Ming China, silver was the primary medium of exchange, and counterfeit silver was epidemic. The principle: when money itself can be faked, nothing in the economy is safe.
In business & life
In the modern economy, "fake silver" is everywhere: inflated metrics, fabricated financials, manipulated data, phantom revenue. When the medium of trust itself is corrupted, the entire system is compromised.
Verify the fundamentals. Don't accept face value — whether it's a financial statement, a personal claim, or an impressive resume. The things that matter most are the things most worth forging.
15
Government underlings
Corrupt minor officials who exploit their positions to extort, defraud, or manipulate both the public and their superiors. They control access to government services and use that power for personal enrichment. The principle: the most dangerous corruption is not at the top but at the gatekeeping level.
In business & life
In organizations, middle managers and gatekeepers who control access, information, or approval have enormous power to extract unofficial rents. Watch the gatekeepers, not just the leaders.
The person who controls your access to something you need — a landlord, a bureaucrat, an administrator — holds more practical power over you than anyone above them in the hierarchy.
16
Marriage
Fraud through marriage — swindlers who marry for money, who misrepresent themselves or their families, or who use the institution of marriage as a vehicle for theft. The principle: the most intimate forms of trust create the most devastating opportunities for betrayal.
In business & life
Business partnerships are commercial marriages. The partner who misrepresents their assets, their debts, or their intentions can destroy you more thoroughly than any competitor. Due diligence on partners is as important as due diligence on deals.
The deeper the trust, the greater the potential for harm. In any relationship involving shared finances, legal commitments, or deep personal access — verify independently. Trust is not the opposite of verification; it is the product of it.
17
Illicit passion
Cons that exploit sexual desire and romantic attachment — using seduction, blackmail, or the threat of scandal to extract money or compliance. The principle: desire blinds judgment more reliably than any other force.
In business & life
Honey traps, romantic manipulation of executives, the exploitation of personal relationships for corporate espionage — these are not relics of history. They remain among the most effective intelligence tools in existence.
Romantic desire is the most powerful override of rational judgment. Be especially cautious when strong attraction coincides with requests for trust, money, access, or information.
18
Women
Cons perpetrated by or through women — exploiting gender dynamics, social expectations, and the vulnerabilities created by patriarchal assumptions about women's roles. The principle: social assumptions about identity create exploitable blind spots.
In business & life
Any demographic stereotype — about gender, age, ethnicity, education — creates a blind spot that can be exploited by someone who defies the assumption. Never assume capability or intent based on identity.
People who don't fit your mental model of "a threat" are the ones most likely to catch you off guard. Challenge your assumptions about who is and isn't trustworthy.
Categories 19–24
Predation, superstition, and the exploitation of belief
The final group covers the darkest territory: kidnapping, corruption in education, religious fraud by monks and priests, fake alchemy, sorcery and supernatural scams, and the organized exploitation of others. These categories exploit not just greed but fear, faith, and the desire for transcendence.
19
Kidnapping
The theft of people — for ransom, for labor, or for darker purposes. In late Ming China, the kidnapping of children and young adults was a persistent social terror. The principle: the most valuable thing a swindler can steal is not property but a person.
In business & life
Talent poaching, intellectual property theft, and the appropriation of key relationships are the corporate forms of kidnapping — stealing the people and knowledge that make an organization function.
Protect the people and relationships that matter most. The greatest vulnerability is not your possessions but your connections.
20
Corruption in education
Fraud targeting the imperial examination system — bribing examiners, selling advance copies of tests, impersonating candidates, or swindling hopeful students with false promises of influence. The principle: wherever a system determines who rises and who falls, that system will be corrupted.
In business & life
College admissions scandals, certification fraud, pay-to-play industry awards — the pattern is identical across centuries. Any meritocratic system creates an industry of people selling shortcuts around the merit.
Be skeptical of anyone who offers to sell you access, influence, or guaranteed outcomes within a supposedly meritocratic system. If the shortcut exists, it undermines the very system it claims to operate within.
21
Monks and priests
Religious figures who exploit their spiritual authority for material gain — extorting donations, selling fake blessings, or using their trusted position to commit crimes hidden behind the facade of piety. The principle: spiritual authority, when corrupted, is the most powerful form of manipulation.
In business & life
Thought leaders, gurus, and charismatic founders who use the language of mission and purpose to extract unquestioning loyalty and financial commitment from followers operate the same pattern. Question anyone who claims moral authority while asking for material resources.
The person who claims spiritual or moral superiority and uses that claim to request trust, money, or obedience is exploiting the deepest form of human vulnerability. Sacred authority demands the most rigorous scrutiny, not the least.
22
Alchemy
Fake alchemists who claim to multiply silver or gold through supernatural processes — elaborate demonstrations that use sleight of hand and rigged equipment to "prove" that base metals can be transmuted. The principle: the promise of something for nothing is the most reliable bait in the history of fraud.
In business & life
Guaranteed returns, risk-free investments, "money-multiplying" schemes, passive income promises — every generation produces a new version of alchemy. The formula never changes: an impressive demonstration followed by a request for capital.
There is no such thing as something for nothing. Every promise that defies this law — in investing, in relationships, in personal development — is a form of alchemy, and alchemy has never worked.
23
Sorcery
Fraud using claims of supernatural power — charmed talismans, dream spirit possession, curses, and magical healing. Swindlers exploit the victim's belief in the supernatural to create fear, dependence, and compliance. The principle: fear of the invisible is more powerful than fear of the visible.
In business & life
The modern equivalent is the exploitation of complexity: black-box algorithms, impenetrable financial instruments, technical jargon designed to intimidate rather than inform. When you don't understand how something works, you are maximally vulnerable to being told it does things it doesn't.
Never trust what you cannot understand. If someone cannot explain their method in plain language, either they don't understand it themselves or they don't want you to. Both are dangerous.
24
Pandering
Organized exploitation — networks of people working together to procure, manipulate, and profit from others' vulnerabilities. The most systematic and impersonal form of fraud, treating people as commodities. The principle: when fraud becomes organized, it becomes an industry — and industries are far harder to disrupt than individuals.
In business & life
Organized fraud networks — boiler rooms, coordinated scam operations, fake review farms, click fraud rings — operate as businesses with structures, incentives, and supply chains. Combating them requires systematic defenses, not individual vigilance alone.
The most dangerous swindlers are not lone operators but systems — networks of people who have professionalized deception. When you encounter organized manipulation, individual skepticism is necessary but insufficient. Seek institutional protection.
Conclusions drawn for business and real life
In business
What the Book of Swindles teaches the modern professional
Zhang Yingyu's catalog reads like a training manual for modern due diligence. The twenty-four categories map directly onto contemporary business fraud: misrepresentation (fabricated credentials and financials), false relations (name-dropping and fabricated connections), brokers (corrupt intermediaries), showing off wealth (the illusion of prosperity as a trust mechanism), alchemy (too-good-to-be-true returns), and corruption in education (credentialing fraud). The core lesson for business is that fraud follows wealth. Wherever an economy is growing — whether late Ming China or modern Silicon Valley — swindlers arrive to exploit the new trust required by new commercial relationships. The defenses are timeless: verify independently, never extend trust based on appearances, be most skeptical at moments of maximum enthusiasm, and remember that the most convincing frauds are the ones that confirm what you already want to believe.
In personal life
What the Book of Swindles teaches about human nature
The deepest lesson of the Book of Swindles is not about fraud — it is about the permanent vulnerabilities of human psychology. Zhang's eighty-four stories, spanning the entire social hierarchy of Ming China, all exploit the same small set of weaknesses: greed (the desire for easy wealth), vanity (the need to appear important), trust in authority (the habit of deferring to credentials and titles), desire (the blinding power of romantic or sexual attraction), fear (of the supernatural, of authority, of social exclusion), and the assumption of good faith (the default belief that others are honest). Four hundred years later, these remain the exact vulnerabilities targeted by every scammer, manipulator, and predator on earth. The Book of Swindles is not a historical curiosity — it is a permanent map of human weakness. Reading it is not about learning to deceive; it is about learning to recognize the patterns of deception in time to protect yourself. Zhang's final, implicit lesson: the person who understands how swindles work is the person who cannot be swindled.
Bottom line
The Book of Swindles is four hundred years old and completely contemporary. Its eighty-four tales across twenty-four categories form the first systematic taxonomy of fraud — organized by method, perpetrator, and setting. The specific details are Ming dynasty; the psychological mechanisms are eternal. Greed, vanity, trust in authority, desire, and the assumption of good faith were the swindler's tools in 1617 and they remain the swindler's tools today. Zhang Yingyu's ultimate message: the world is full of deception, human nature does not change, and the only defense is knowledge — not of the world's goodness, but of its capacity for cunning.
