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The Red-Topped Merchant

Hu Xueyan (1823 to 1885) began as an apprentice in a money shop at the age of 14. In 1860 Wang Youling became governor of Zhejiang. Out of gratitude to Hu, Wang put his full support behind Hu’s Fukang money shop.

After the Qing army retook Hangzhou, the provincial treasurer Jiang Yili introduced Hu to the governor-general Zuo Zongtang. Zuo wrote to the throne that every task he had given Hu was “handled to complete satisfaction.” Hu went on to help Zuo found the Fuzhou Navy Yard in 1866, and in 1872 he raised loans to fund Zuo’s campaign in Xinjiang.

He is remembered as a hongding shangren, a red-topped merchant. Zuo’s memorial already named him by an official rank.

When the Deal Falls Through

Shengyi bu cheng renyi zai (生意不成仁义在) If the business does not happen, benevolence and righteousness remain. The Handian dictionary explains it this way. Although the sale was not made, the two sides still keep their good feeling. A variant begins with maimai, buying and selling.

Where Lawyers Find Their Cases

A survey of 2,062 lawyers in Shenzhen, published by the Shenzhen Lawyers Association in June 2022, looked at how young lawyers work. It reported that most of them get their cases mainly through introductions: from relatives and friends, from colleagues at their own firm, and from former clients.

Four Billion Contracts

In May 2011, an article in China Youth Daily stated that China signs about four billion contracts a year, and that only about 50 percent of them are performed. The article introduced the figure only with the words “other data shows.” It named no source and no year for the data, and the original source has not been found.

A Quince for Jade

Tou wo yi mugua, bao zhi yi qiongju. Fei bao ye, yong yi wei hao ye. “A quince was thrown to me. I gave back a red jade pendant. It was not a repayment. It was so that we would always be friends.” The ode Mugua, in the Airs of Wei of the Book of Songs, repeats this in three verses. Each time a piece of fruit is answered with jade.

The traditional Mao preface reads the poem as an expression of thanks. After the state of Wei was defeated by the Di, Duke Huan of Qi rescued it and gave it carriages, horses, vessels and clothing. The people of Wei “wished to repay him generously, and made this poem.”

The Timely Rain

When the Water Margin introduces Song Jiang, it says that he spent freely and treated gold like dirt. “When people asked him for money or goods, he never refused.” He gave out coffins and medicine, “relieved the poor, helped those in urgent need and supported those in trouble.”

“For this he was famous in Shandong and Hebei, and everyone called him the Timely Rain.” The novel explains the name. People compared him to rain that falls from heaven just in time and saves all living things.

The Vocabulary of Support

Cheng ren zhi mei (成人之美) To help others achieve what is good for them. From the Analects: “The gentleman helps others achieve what is good in them, and not what is bad. The petty man does the opposite.”

Peng chang (捧场) To hold up the stage. Originally, to go to the theater to cheer for a performer. Today, to show up and support someone’s event.

Tai jiaozi (抬轿子) To carry someone’s sedan chair. To flatter someone. Also, to help a newcomer rise.

A Top-Leader Project

In Chinese companies, some projects are called yibashou gongcheng, top-leader projects. In March 2026 the business site Huxiu wrote that they are given the name, and that “in the industry there is even a consensus that no one but the top leader can push them.”

The article’s headline described this as a predicament: “Everything has to be pushed by the boss.” It called the top-leader project an unusual management tool, meant to solve key problems by shifting resources toward them.

The King of Hell Is Easy to See

Yanwang hao jian, xiaogui nan dang (阎王好见，小鬼难当) The King of Hell is easy to see, but his little devils are hard to deal with. The Handian dictionary explains that subordinates and staff are harder to deal with than the superior in charge. It cites the late Qing novel Officialdom Unmasked: “Even if you, my nephew, want no money, there are still the jailers and the others, and they may not be accommodating.”

The saying puts the obstacle below the top, among the subordinates and staff.