三十六計

The first mention is found in the Book of Southern Qi:

敬則曰：「檀公三十六策，走是上計。汝父子唯應急走耳。」 [Literary Chinese, trad.]

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敬则曰：「檀公三十六策，走是上计。汝父子唯应急走耳。」 [Literary Chinese, simp.]

From: The Book of Southern Qi, by Xiao Zixian, 6^th century CE

Jìngzé yuē: “Tán Gōng sānshíliùcè, zǒu shì shàngjì. Rǔ fùzǐ wéi yìng jí zǒu ěr.” [Pinyin]

Jingze said, "Among the thirty-six stratagems of Duke Tan, fleeing is the best stratagem. You and your father should quickly flee."

The number thirty-six here is likely a figure of speech meant to denote "numerous stratagems" instead of any specific number.

On the other hand, the current Thirty-Six Stratagems is based on a book with the same title published in 1941 that claims to be a reprint of a book discovered at a bookstall in Bin County (邠縣／邠县), Shaanxi that contains the thirty-six stratagems.

三十六計

1. Thirty-Six Stratagems

   Synonyms: 三十六策, 三十六著

• → Vietnamese: Ba mươi sáu kế (calque)

From Chinese 三十六計／三十六计 (Sānshíliù Jì).

• (Tokyo) さ​んじゅうろっけー [sáꜜǹjùùròkkèè] (Atamadaka – [1])
• IPA^(key): [sã̠ɲ̟d͡ʑɨᵝːɾo̞k̚ke̞ː]

三(さん)十(じゅう)六(ろっ)計(けい) • (Sanjūrokkei) ^{←さんじふろくけい (sanzifurokukei)?}

1. the Thirty-Six Stratagems

• 三(さん)十(じゅう)六(ろっ)計(けい)逃(に)げるに如(し)かず (Sanjūrokkei nigeru ni shikazu)
• 三(さん)十(じゅう)六(ろく) (sanjūroku)

三十六計 • (Samsibyukgye) (hangeul 삼십육계)

1. Hanja form^? of 삼십육계 (“Thirty-Six Stratagems”).

三十六計

1. chữ Hán form of Tam thập lục kế (“Thirty-Six Stratagems”).