3 ms·

Reminds me of the good'ol dynasties, those who "criticize the imperial court rashly" are getting lynched. The males in the family would be beheaded, while femal

Reminds me of the good'ol dynasties, those who "criticize the imperial court rashly" are getting lynched. The males in the family would be beheaded, while females and kids would be sold as slaves. And in order to show the mercy of his imperial majesty, the execution of the males would be delayed to autumn.

Rebelgecko 5y ago
A few months ago I read some excerpts from "Annals of the Warring States". It's a treatise kinda similar to Sun Tzu's infamous Art of War but arguably more useful and less trendy (might have something to do with length). One parable I enjoyed went something like this (paraphrasing extensively because I don't remember details/names). Mr. Lao was the personal secretary of the king in one of the titular warring states. This gave him a lot of power and influence, in particular because he managed the king's schedule and chose who would receive an audience. One day, a wealthy merchant named Mr. Hsu requested an audience. Mr. Lao was curious, because Mr. Hsu had a reputation for being the handsomest dude in the land. So he goes to his wife and is like "do you think I'm more handsome than Mr. Hsu?" and she said "Of course you are darling". Then he goes to visit his concubine and is like "do you think in more handsome than Mr. Hsu? And the concubine is like "of course you are!". The next day, a merchant like Mr Hsu was waiting in the crowd to request an audience with the king. Mr. Lao asked the same question, and the merchant told him that of course Lao was better looking. The time for Mr. Hsu's audience came, and when he stepped into the room Mr. Lao was like "Damn, that guy is way more handsome than I am". After the audience, he cleared the room and spoke to the king. "Your majesty, before seeing Mr. Hsu with my own eyes I asked 3 people who they thought was more handsome. My wife said me, because she loves me. My side-chick said me, because she fears me. A petitioner said me, because he wanted something from me. Nevertheless, my appearance is nothing compared to the good looks of Mr. Hsu" The king pondered this for a few moments before speaking. "My trusted servant, I see your point. From here on out, have our guards and spies give a $10 reward to anyone who criticizes me in private. Give a $100 reward to any petitioner who justifiably thinks I've made a mistake, even if I eventually rule against them. Give $1,000 to any of my advisors who talks shit about me behind my back. Give $10,000 to the ones that have the balls to speak criticisms to me directly." This was an expensive program, because people will always find something to complain about. But every week, Mr. Lao found himself distributing fewer and fewer bounties. The kingdom ran smoother and smoother as the king heard criticisms that people were afraid to levy before.
- dumb1224 5y ago
  I read it when I was little. it's interesting because I feel in china these story are regarded 'fairy tale' like and it gears towards individual virtue education. We read these classics but it's more for teaching people kindness. But I guess people have different interpretations anyway.
- celestialpeasan 5y ago
  It's 鄒忌諷齊王納諫 (Zou Ji use his satirical admonishment to King of Qi). It happened during the Warring States period (475 BC - 221 BC). The culture was very different compared to later imperial dynasties. It's more like medieval Europe - consisting of a lot of feudal states rather than being a powerful empire. Ethics drastically varies from person to person, where we can find people truly living with their virtue, and people most cunning. Original names in case anyone was curious: Mr.Lao -> Zou Ji Mr.Hsu -> Duke Xu King -> King Might of Qi

Rebelgecko 5y ago

A few months ago I read some excerpts from "Annals of the Warring States". It's a treatise kinda similar to Sun Tzu's infamous Art of War but arguably more useful and less trendy (might have something to do with length). One parable I enjoyed went something like this (paraphrasing extensively because I don't remember details/names). Mr. Lao was the personal secretary of the king in one of the titular warring states. This gave him a lot of power and influence, in particular because he managed the king's schedule and chose who would receive an audience. One day, a wealthy merchant named Mr. Hsu requested an audience. Mr. Lao was curious, because Mr. Hsu had a reputation for being the handsomest dude in the land. So he goes to his wife and is like "do you think I'm more handsome than Mr. Hsu?" and she said "Of course you are darling". Then he goes to visit his concubine and is like "do you think in more handsome than Mr. Hsu? And the concubine is like "of course you are!". The next day, a merchant like Mr Hsu was waiting in the crowd to request an audience with the king. Mr. Lao asked the same question, and the merchant told him that of course Lao was better looking. The time for Mr. Hsu's audience came, and when he stepped into the room Mr. Lao was like "Damn, that guy is way more handsome than I am". After the audience, he cleared the room and spoke to the king. "Your majesty, before seeing Mr. Hsu with my own eyes I asked 3 people who they thought was more handsome. My wife said me, because she loves me. My side-chick said me, because she fears me. A petitioner said me, because he wanted something from me. Nevertheless, my appearance is nothing compared to the good looks of Mr. Hsu" The king pondered this for a few moments before speaking. "My trusted servant, I see your point. From here on out, have our guards and spies give a $10 reward to anyone who criticizes me in private. Give a $100 reward to any petitioner who justifiably thinks I've made a mistake, even if I eventually rule against them. Give $1,000 to any of my advisors who talks shit about me behind my back. Give $10,000 to the ones that have the balls to speak criticisms to me directly." This was an expensive program, because people will always find something to complain about. But every week, Mr. Lao found himself distributing fewer and fewer bounties. The kingdom ran smoother and smoother as the king heard criticisms that people were afraid to levy before.

dumb1224 5y ago
I read it when I was little. it's interesting because I feel in china these story are regarded 'fairy tale' like and it gears towards individual virtue education. We read these classics but it's more for teaching people kindness. But I guess people have different interpretations anyway.
celestialpeasan 5y ago
It's 鄒忌諷齊王納諫 (Zou Ji use his satirical admonishment to King of Qi). It happened during the Warring States period (475 BC - 221 BC). The culture was very different compared to later imperial dynasties. It's more like medieval Europe - consisting of a lot of feudal states rather than being a powerful empire. Ethics drastically varies from person to person, where we can find people truly living with their virtue, and people most cunning. Original names in case anyone was curious: Mr.Lao -> Zou Ji Mr.Hsu -> Duke Xu King -> King Might of Qi