The useful declines to be used, whereas the useless asks to be used. Make use of the useless. It is not I who seek help from the callow youth but the callow youth who seeks help from me.

According to popular Chinese myth, the spirit of a deceased, except for extreme cases when it is sent to suffer in hell or ascends to become an immortal in heaven, can find reincarnation either in a baby ready to be born or in a well=preserved corpse. Thus, when something smothered in the past is revived in a new guise, it is said to have found reincarnation in another‘s corpse.

The strategy advocates the use of the seemingly useless in warfare. At the downfall of a dynasty, many military strongmen will rise to contend for control over the empire. A wise leader understands that military victories are not enough to build up his strenghth. He must secure a measure of popular support so that he can always get people and resources to compensate achieve this end is to foster a sense of his legitimacy among the common people. He might claim to be in a position to take over the empire, either as the descendant of a well-know victim of the fallen dynasty (if the latter is considered to be irredeemably corrupt) or a distant relative of the imperial house (if the fallen dynasty is considered to be a victim of vicious ministers). If unable to make such claims himself, he might set up a person who has such status as his master, whom he intends to get rid of after he has built up his strength.