守口如瓶 To keep the mouth closed like a bottle. To keep a secret strictly. In the novel Romance of the Sui and Tang, a character says to the emperor: “I hope Your Majesty will keep it closed like a bottle and never mention it.”
过河拆桥 To tear down the bridge after crossing the river. To turn away from the person who helped once the goal is reached.
Guan Yu, the general of the Three Kingdoms known for his loyalty, is worshipped as a wu caishen, a martial god of wealth. “Merchants chose Guan Gong as their god of wealth because they value his loyal and righteous image,” China News Service wrote in 2011. The Paper put it this way: “Merchants revere Guan Gong’s loyal and trustworthy heart, and most of them worship him.”
A business daily explained the choice: “For merchants, for whom mutual trust is the most important standard, yi should be placed at the center of their values.”
On January 28, 2015, Ant Financial began a public test of Sesame Credit, a personal credit score, among some of its users. Scores run from 350 to 950. A report at the launch said that a high enough score would let a user rent a car or stay at a hotel without paying a deposit.
The Han envoy Su Wu was held captive by the Xiongnu and made to herd sheep. The Book of Han says: “He herded the sheep leaning on the staff of the Han envoy. Sleeping and rising, he held it, until all its tassels had fallen off.” He was held for nineteen years before he came home.
Su Wu Herds Sheep is also the name of a traditional melody, generally played on a Chinese flute.
On June 14, 2014, the State Council issued its Outline of the Plan for Building the Social Credit System, 2014 to 2020. It calls rewards for keeping faith and penalties for breaking it “the core mechanism of the social credit system.” The aim, it says, is that “those who keep faith benefit everywhere, and those who break faith can hardly take a single step.”
靠谱 Reliable. Said of what is sensible and makes sense. A dictionary example: “This person does things reliably.”
放鸽子 To release the pigeons. To break an appointment and lose someone’s trust.
凡事有交代，件件有着落，事事有回音 Every matter accounted for, every item settled, every message answered. A business article says that some people define being reliable by these three things, and that the three are really one: closing the loop.
In the first chapter of the Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government, Sima Guang explains the fall of the Zhi clan. Zhi Xuanzi chose Zhi Yao as his heir, and the clan was destroyed. “Zhi Bo perished because his talent exceeded his virtue.”
Sima Guang then sorts people into four kinds. “One complete in talent and virtue is a sage. One lacking both is a fool. One whose virtue exceeds his talent is a gentleman. One whose talent exceeds his virtue is a petty man.” If no sage or gentleman can be found, “it is better to get a fool than a petty man.”
Before he announced his new laws, the Qin reformer Shang Yang feared that the people would not believe him. He set up a pole three zhang tall at the south gate of the capital’s market and offered ten gold to anyone who moved it to the north gate.
People found this strange, and nobody moved it. He raised the reward to fifty. One man moved it and was paid fifty at once, “to show that there was no deceit.” Then the laws were issued. The story is in Sima Qian’s Records of the Grand Historian, and it is known as 徙木立信, moving a pole to establish trust.
Confucius said: “A person who is not trustworthy, I do not know how he can be of any use. A large cart without a yoke pin, a small cart without a collar pin, how can they move?” (Analects 2.22)
Asked what a state needs, Confucius named enough food, enough weapons and the trust of the people. If one had to go, he would give up the weapons first, then the food. “Since ancient times, all have died. Without trust, the people cannot stand.” (Analects 12.7)
On his first mission, traveling north, the Wu prince Ji Zha passed through the state of Xu. The Lord of Xu admired his sword but did not dare to say so. Ji Zha understood, but he was on a mission to the great states and did not give it. When he came back, the Lord of Xu had died. Ji Zha untied his sword and hung it on a tree at the tomb.
His attendant asked: “The Lord of Xu is dead. Who is it for?” Ji Zha answered: “Not so. In my heart I had already promised it to him. How could I betray my heart because he has died?” (Sima Qian, Records of the Grand Historian)