Authority Backing Archives - understand-culture

The Fox and the Tiger

King Xuan of Chu asked his ministers whether the northern states really feared Zhao Xixu. The ministers were silent. Jiang Yi answered with a story. A tiger caught a fox. The fox said that the Lord of Heaven had made him leader of all the beasts. He told the tiger to walk behind him and watch.

The beasts ran at the sight of them. “The tiger did not know that the beasts ran because they feared him. He thought they feared the fox.” (Strategies of the Warring States) The idiom 狐假虎威, the fox borrows the tiger’s might, comes from this story.

Holding the Emperor

After Cao Cao took Yan province, his adviser Mao Jie told him that he should “serve the Son of Heaven in order to command those who do not submit” (奉天子以令不臣). Cao Cao took the advice. (Records of the Three Kingdoms) In 196, he moved the Han emperor’s court to Xu.

In the Longzhong Plan, Zhuge Liang told Liu Bei that Cao Cao could not be fought head-on. “Now Cao Cao has a million men, and he holds the Son of Heaven to command the lords.” The idiom 挟天子以令诸侯 is based on this line.

Guided by Xi Jinping Thought

In its section on the general requirements for 2025, China’s Government Work Report says that the year’s work must be done “under the firm leadership of the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core” and “guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era.”

The same formula appears far from Beijing. Xiamen University’s plan for the 14th Five-Year Plan period opens its introduction: “Xiamen University will be guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era…”

The Leader’s Intent

In August 2015, the website of the National Development and Reform Commission published “Five Steps for Writing Official Documents,” by an official of a county Party organization department in Yunnan. The writer, it says, must “learn the leader’s intentions in detail” and the requirements for the document, and leave out personal likes and dislikes.

The writer should then “take the leader’s point of view” to understand the situation, analyze problems and propose measures.

The Vocabulary of Borrowed Authority

尚方剑 The imperial sword. A sword the emperor gave to an official, “a symbol of being authorized to decide on one’s own.” In plays and novels, an official who holds it may execute first and report afterward. Also 尚方宝剑.

拉大旗作虎皮 To raise a big banner as a tiger skin. To frighten others under a fine-sounding banner, and so protect oneself. Lu Xun used the image in 1936, in his reply to Xu Maoyong.

揣摩 To work out what something means. Also to guess. A dictionary gives an example from chapter 24 of the novel Wenming xiaoshi (文明小史): “If those above want new policies, talk of new policies. If they want to recruit the Boxers, talk of the Boxers.”

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)

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.

The Top Leader Speaks Last

In 2013 and 2014, several provinces, among them Yunnan, Henan and Anhui, wrote a “speak last” rule (末位表态) into their decision procedures. Yunnan did so in June 2013, and Henan in May 2014. When a leading group discusses a decision, the other members state their views first. The top leader states a view last.

A 2014 report on the rules gave the reason: “The other members of the group speak first, and the top leader speaks last. This will help to avoid a ‘hall of one voice.'”

The Vocabulary of Light Words

人微言轻 The person is low, so the words are light. What a person of low position says is not taken seriously. Su Shi used the phrase in a letter: “I have reported this matter three times and have had no reply. The person is low and the words are light, so it is only natural.”

插嘴 To insert a mouth. To speak before another person has finished.

打官腔 To strike the official tone. To answer with official set phrases in order to put someone off.

Object, Then Carry Out

Under Article 60 of the Civil Servant Law, as revised in 2018, a civil servant who believes a superior’s decision or order is wrong may propose to the superior that it be corrected or withdrawn. If the superior does not change it, or demands immediate action, the civil servant must carry it out. The superior then bears the consequences.

A civil servant who carries out a clearly illegal decision or order is held responsible for it.