Teamwork Archives - understand-culture

The Head of the Flock

群龙无首 A flock of dragons without a head. The Handian dictionary defines it as a group with no one to lead it, so that it cannot act together. Its example comes from Yao Xueyin’s novel Li Zicheng: “But a flock of dragons without a head will never become a great force.”

火车跑得快，全靠车头带 A train runs fast because the engine pulls it. In October 2016, a People’s Daily report on grassroots Party organizations used this line.

The first phrase comes from the Book of Changes, where it is a good omen: “A flock of dragons appears without a head. Good fortune.” Taiwan’s national dictionary explains the old sense. When many worthy people rise together, none should push forward to lead.

The Lead Goose

A 2022 article on the Party website 12371 explained that Xi Jinping “compares leading cadres to lead geese,” the touyan at the front of the formation.

A 2025 People’s Daily article quoted him: “Leading cadres at all levels must take the lead in changing their style of work, practice it in person, lead those below by their example from above, and create a ‘lead goose effect.'”

Every Punishment of Twenty or More

Zhuge Liang faced Sima Yi on the banks of the Wei River. The Weishi Chunqiu, quoted in Pei Songzhi’s commentary on the Records of the Three Kingdoms, tells what Sima Yi asked a messenger from the enemy camp. He asked about Zhuge Liang’s sleep, his food and how much work he had. He did not ask about the war.

The messenger answered: “Lord Zhuge rises early and goes to bed late. Every punishment of twenty or more, he handles himself. He eats no more than a few sheng.” Sima Yi said: “Liang will soon die.” In the eighth month of that year, Zhuge Liang fell ill and died in camp, at the age of fifty-four.

The Master Sends Monkey Away

In chapter 27 of Journey to the West, a corpse demon approaches the pilgrims in human form. Sun Wukong strikes at it. The demon escapes and leaves a false body behind. The monk Tang Sanzang is shocked, and Zhu Bajie urges him to believe that his elder brother has killed a farm woman and used a trick to hide it.

Tang Sanzang believes Bajie and recites the spell that tightens the band around Wukong’s head. Wukong cries: “My head hurts! Stop, stop. If there is something to say, say it.” When the demon returns a third time, the master writes a letter of dismissal. “I will not have you as my disciple again.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAm6xqC3Iq0

Haier’s Micro-Enterprises

On September 20, 2005, Zhang Ruimin, chairman and CEO of Haier, first proposed a business model called rendan heyi, the unity of people and orders. Haier says that it turned many of its units into xiaowei, small micro-enterprises, which work on one shared platform. A 2018 article on its website describes a shift, beginning in 2005, from a closed company to an open network of self-governing micro-enterprises, run by the people who carry the risk.

In 2015, the Financial Times reported that Haier had cut its full-time staff from 86,000 to 60,000 in 2013 and 2014, including 10,000 middle managers. Haier reprinted the article on its own website.

The Eighteen Arhats

Alibaba’s founders are known as the shiba luohan, the Eighteen Arhats. A 2019 article in Hangzhou’s city news explains: “The Eighteen Arhats are the 18 people who founded Alibaba together at Hupan Garden in 1999.” They built the Alibaba website in Jack Ma’s home on that housing estate in Hangzhou.

Among the eighteen were Joe Tsai, Peng Lei and Dai Shan. Several of them later became partners of Alibaba.

The Men of Feng and Pei

Liu Bang, the founder of the Han dynasty, began his rise in the area of Feng, Pei and Dang, and his first troops came mainly from there. Historians therefore call his core group the Feng-Pei group. Of the early Han chancellors, Xiao He, Cao Can and Wang Ling belonged to it. The grand commandants Lu Wan, Zhou Bo and Guan Ying were all members.

An article in The Paper cites a count of twenty identifiable members of Liu Bang’s early core. Fourteen of them, about 70 percent, came from Pei county.

Pass On, Help, Lead

传帮带 Pass on, help, lead. The Handian dictionary defines it as experienced people passing on their experience to newcomers, helping them and guiding their work.

In August 2026, Science and Technology Daily reported on soldiers at the end of their service. It called for these veterans to “play their full part as models and in passing on, helping and leading.”

Elder Brother of the School

师兄 Elder brother of the school. The Handian dictionary defines it as a person who began to study under the same master before oneself. 师姐 is the elder sister of the school. 师弟 and 师妹 are the younger brother and sister.

The rank follows who began first.

No Office Without Limit

On August 18, 1980, Deng Xiaoping spoke to an enlarged meeting of the Politburo on the reform of the leadership system. He named “the lifelong tenure of leading cadres” among its main defects. “The term of office of any leading cadre cannot be unlimited.”

He called for leadership to become gradually “younger and more professional.” The main task, he said, was to discover and promote outstanding middle-aged and young cadres, “and even boldly promote them out of the normal order.”