Leadership Archives - Page 4 of 9

The Ruler Does Not Show His Wishes

In the chapter The Way of the Ruler (主道), Han Feizi writes: “The ruler must not show what he wants. If he shows what he wants, the ministers will carve and polish themselves to match it. The ruler must not show his intentions. If he shows them, the ministers will display themselves as something special.” And: “Put away likes and dislikes, and the ministers will show their plain selves.”

The same chapter gives a rule for officials: “Let each office have one man, and do not let them talk to one another. Then all things will come out in full.” (官有一人，勿令通言，则万物皆尽)

Elders First

The Dizigui (弟子规), a rhyming primer of the Qing dynasty, sets out how a child behaves toward elders. “Eating or drinking, sitting or walking, the elder goes first and the younger after.” (或饮食，或坐走，长者先，幼者后) “When addressing an elder, do not call him by his name.” (称尊长，勿呼名) “In front of an elder, keep the voice low.”

The text is generally attributed to Li Yuxiu, a scholar of the Kangxi era. Jia Cunren later revised it and gave it its present title. It is built on a line from the Analects: a young man is filial at home and respectful to his elders outside.

Seats at the Table

At a formal Chinese banquet, every seat has a rank. The seats facing the door are the seats of honor. A 2015 article on Xinhua’s website places the guests around the host’s seat, the zhupei (主陪): “To the right of the host is the seat of the chief guest, to the left the seat of the second guest, and opposite is the seat of the deputy host.”

An etiquette guide published by the Shanghai government adds a rule for drinking. To show respect, a guest keeps the rim of the glass below the host’s.

A Deer Called a Horse

In the last years of the Qin dynasty, the chancellor Zhao Gao wanted to seize power but feared that the ministers would not follow him. He set a test. He brought a deer to the Second Emperor and said: “It is a horse.” The emperor laughed. “Is the chancellor mistaken? He calls a deer a horse.” He asked the people around him.

“Some of those around him were silent. Some said horse, to please Zhao Gao.” (左右或默，或言马以阿顺赵高) Zhao Gao had those who said deer secretly charged under the law. “After that, all the ministers feared Zhao Gao.” (Records of the Grand Historian) The idiom zhi lu wei ma (指鹿为马), to point at a deer and call it a horse, comes from this story.

Three Kinds of Silence

In 2008, four researchers published a study in Acta Psychologica Sinica (心理学报) on the measurement of employee silence in the Chinese context. They surveyed 928 employees with a questionnaire of their own design. They found that employee silence takes three forms: acquiescent silence, indifferent silence and defensive silence.

Trust in the superior reduced all three. Trust in the organization reduced only the first two. It had no significant effect on defensive silence.

Repaid as a Man of the State

Yu Rang served the noble families of Fan and Zhonghang. When Zhi Bo destroyed them, Yu Rang went over to Zhi Bo. Later Zhi Bo was killed by Zhao Xiangzi, and Yu Rang tried again and again to kill Zhao Xiangzi. “A gentleman dies for the one who knows him,” he said. “A woman makes herself beautiful for the one who delights in her.” (士為知己者死，女為說己者容)

Zhao Xiangzi asked why he took such deep revenge for Zhi Bo, when he had done nothing for his first masters. Yu Rang answered: “The Fan and Zhonghang treated me as an ordinary man, so I repaid them as an ordinary man. Zhi Bo treated me as a man of the state, so I repay him as a man of the state.” (Records of the Grand Historian)

The Seal Left Behind

In chapter 27 of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Guan Yu leaves Cao Cao to return to his old lord, Liu Bei. He seals up the gold that Cao Cao has given him and hangs up his seal of office, feng jin gua yin (封金挂印). One of Cao Cao’s generals wants to pursue him. Cao Cao stops him: “He does not forget his old lord. He comes and goes openly. He is a true man.”

Cao Cao then tells Zhang Liao: “Wealth could not move his heart. Rank and salary could not change his will. I respect such a man deeply.” He says that he will see Guan Yu off with travel money and a robe.

The Leader’s Secretary

In 2014, a report compiled from Xinhua, Outlook Weekly and the Beijing News described the hidden power of the secretaries of leading officials. They are the people closest to the leader, and those who want favors approach them first. It quoted Li Zhen, once known as “Hebei’s first secretary”: “When I was a secretary, someone was in charge of me, but no one supervised me.”

A report of the discipline inspection and supervision authorities, carried by Huanqiu, noted that in bribery cases, “the secretaries, drivers, subordinates and friends of leading cadres are also often involved.”

The General Who Sucked the Wound

As a general, Wu Qi wore the same clothes and ate the same food as the lowest of his soldiers. When one soldier had an abscess, Wu Qi sucked out the pus himself. The soldier’s mother heard of it and wept. Someone asked her why. Her son was a common soldier, and the general himself had sucked his wound.

“It is not that,” she said. “Years ago, Lord Wu sucked his father’s wound. His father never turned back in battle and died at the hands of the enemy. Now Lord Wu has sucked my son’s wound. I do not know where he will die.” (Records of the Grand Historian)

He Gave Me His Clothes

After a heavy defeat, Xiang Yu sent Wu She to persuade Han Xin, now King of Qi, to turn against Liu Bang and divide the realm three ways. Han Xin refused. “When I served Xiang Yu, my post was no more than a guard holding a halberd. My words were not heard and my plans were not used. So I left Chu and went over to Han.”

“The King of Han gave me the seal of supreme general and tens of thousands of men. He took off his clothes to dress me and pushed his food over to feed me. He listened to my words and used my plans. That is how I came this far. When a man trusts me so deeply, betraying him would bring bad fortune. I will not change, even in death.” (Records of the Grand Historian)