The Ruler's Guide: China's Greatest Emperor and His Timeless Secrets of Success

by Chinghua Tang

  “Don’t use men of great abilities for small jobs; don’t use men of small abilities for important tasks. If you place the right people in the right positions, you can run the government smoothly; if you place the wrong people in the wrong positions, you will have endless troubles.

  “A wise ruler knows how to judge people and how to make good use of their abilities.”

  SCOUTING TALENTS

  Taizong told the crown prince, “A boat crossing the ocean depends on its sailors. A bird flying through the skies depends on its wings. An emperor running his country depends on the support of his aides. You should rather have one talent in your employ than have a thousand ounces of gold in your coffer.

  “But talented people may live in obscurity. They may be waiting for the right opportunity; they may come from humble origins or have low status; they may be poor or holding menial jobs. You must make every effort to seek them out, for such people will make your life easier.”

  ACQUAINTANCES

  Prime Minister Fang Xuanling said to Taizong, “Your old colleagues, including your uncle, are complaining because they haven’t received appointments in the new government.”

  Taizong replied, “As emperor, I must be impartial. I must select those who are qualified for their jobs. Qualification is the only criterion. How can we have one set of criteria for those we know and another for those we don’t? I don’t forget a man even if I met him only once, to say nothing of those who have worked with me for many years. But if they do not measure up to the standard, they are not up to the job. I can’t appoint them just because they are my acquaintances. You only told me about their complaints, but have you examined their abilities?”

  SELF-RECOMMENDATION

  Taizong said to his ministers, “You don’t know many talented people, and I don’t know them either. If we just wait and wait, we won’t get recruits. What about letting people recommend themselves?”

  “No, I don’t think that’s a good idea,” objected Minister Wei Zheng. “Knowing others is not easy; knowing oneself is also difficult. But an ignorant person may regard himself as capable. He may exaggerate his abilities and may be quite good at promoting himself. Therefore, if you let people recommend themselves, you could end up recruiting self-seekers who have no real talent.”

  TRUE FAIR-MINDEDNESS

  Taizong encouraged officials to recommend talented people, but some of them were afraid of being accused of favoritism.

  Taizong said to his ministers, “I often hear people say, ‘This man is a relative of Minister So-and-So. That man is a friend of General So-and-So.’ I want you to know that as long as you are honest in recommending talents, you have nothing to fear. The ancients would not refrain from recommending a worthy man because he was a relative or a friend. Nor would they hesitate to recommend an opponent. That was true fair-mindedness.”

  When Taizong appointed his brother-in-law Zhangsun Wuji to a senior position, he was criticized for nepotism. Taizong responded: “To show my concern for my in-law, I could have given him lots of money. But I offered him the job because I wanted to use his talent.”

  ELEGANT WRITING AND REAL TALENT

  Candidates for the civil service had to pass a preliminary and a final examination. There were two well-known scholars in the capital. Taizong had heard of their names but was surprised to find they were not on the roster of successful candidates. He asked Wang Shidan, the chief examiner, about it.

  “True, these two men can write elegant essays,” Wang replied, “but their language is too flowery and their style too frivolous. Such people don’t have real talent. If they are allowed to pass the final, I’m afraid others may emulate them. I don’t think that is what Your Majesty expects to see?”

  Taizong agreed.

  SIX TYPES OF GOOD OFFICIALS

  Minister Wei Zheng categorized good officials into six types:

  “Those who are prescient enough to tell signs of coming events and take preemptive actions before any trouble occurs so as to protect the ruler.

  “Those who give the ruler sound advice, carry out his good policies, and correct his mistakes promptly.

  “Those who work hard, inspire the ruler with examples of sage kings in history, and recommend worthy men to him.

  “Those who are perceptive, capable of remedying the ruler’s mistakes and turning a bad thing into good account.

  “Those who abide by the law, do not take bribes or seek high pay, and lead a simple and frugal life.

  “Those who do not flatter and dare to speak out against the ruler’s mistakes.”

  SIX TYPES OF BAD OFFICIALS

  He also divided wicked officials into six types:

  “Those who do not work hard but think only of power and wealth and have no principles.

  “Those who always say yes to the ruler, try to please him by any means, and go along with him even when he is wrong.

  “Those who are double-faced, jealous of the worthy, and use tricks to manipulate the ruler and cause him to be unfair to his officials.

  “Those who are smart enough to conceal their own wrongdoing, are eloquent enough to win favor from others, and purposefully create confusion in court.

  “Those who abuse their position for selfish ends and try to feather their own nests in the name of the ruler.

  “Those who use artful talk to beguile the ruler, confuse right and wrong to mislead him, and cause him to bear a bad name.”

  WHAT TANG TAIZONG AND HIS ADVISERS TEACH US TODAY

  * * *

  A key to Taizong’s success lay in his shrewd judgment of the strengths and weaknesses of his subordinates and his ability to make the best use of them.

  The art of leadership is the art of leveraging—of giving full play to the strengths of others and enabling them to realize their potential.

  We can learn the following from Taizong about leadership:

  First, leaders don’t have to be skilled in every field but they must have an innate ability to assess people.

  Second, leaders don’t seek perfection in others but are able to identify their talents and gifts.

  Third, leaders must have the inner security not to be jealous of other people’s talents but, rather, to bring them into full play.

  Fourth, leaders must possess self-knowledge so that they can form a team with the right combination of strengths to make up the leader’s deficiencies.

  Last but not least, leaders must have sufficient integrity to inspire loyalty and respect.

  Taizong was greatly admired by the Japanese shogun Ieyasu Tokugawa for his leadership prowess. The latter was the founder of the Tokugawa dynasty in the seventeenth century. Tokugawa made a deep study of The Zhenguan Executive Guide under the tutelage of a Sinologist. He used Taizong’s ideas to govern and bade his successors to do the same. His dynasty ruled Japan for 264 years.

  * * *

  I Han Feizi (c. 280–233 BC) was one of the most influential philosophers of the Warring States period.

  3

  On Moral Character and Talent

  A man must have first, a lofty goal; second, a desire for knowledge; and third, a persevering spirit. He will not accept a low standard if he has a lofty goal; he will not be content with a little knowledge if he understands there is no limit to knowledge; and he is bound to succeed whatever his pursuit if he perseveres. Not a single one of these three qualities can he do without.

  —ZENG GUOFANI

  Senior Minister and Chief Remonstrant Wei Zheng served at the side of Taizong for seventeen of his twenty-three years as China’s emperor. Wei was a talented official, a Confucian scholar, and a man of moral excellence. It wasn’t surprising that Taizong sought his opinion on the issue of weighing a man’s ability against his integrity.

  TANG TAIZONG AND HIS ADVISERS’ WORDS

  * * *

  SETTING EXAMPLES

  “I must be careful in appointing officials,” Taizong said to his ministers. “The people are watching whom I appoint. If I appoint
an honest man, he will set a good example for all. If I appoint a wicked man, he will attract others who are likewise wicked men. I must also be cautious in giving rewards and punishments. If I reward a meritorious official, those with no merits will quit on their own. If I punish a wicked one, others like him will also get the warning.”

  “It is difficult to appraise a man,” Wei Zheng responded. “We have to look into his moral conduct before hiring him. We have to check up on his performance before promoting or demoting him. If we hire a man of mediocre ability, he may not do a good job, but the harm he can do is limited. If we appoint an evil yet capable man, he can cause a lot of damage.”

  EXAMINATION RESULTS

  “We select civil servants based only on the examination results,” Taizong said to Vice Prime Minister Du Ruhui, who was in charge of government personnel. “But we know next to nothing about their moral character. If a villain is selected, it may be years before he betrays himself. But by that time even if we punish him, it’ll be too late. He will have done damage already. What can we do?”

  “In the Han dynasty, candidates had to be recommended by local officials,” Du Ruhui replied. “Their knowledge and moral character had already been scrutinized before they were appointed. That’s why the Han court was able to recruit a considerable number of men who were both able and virtuous. Now we hold examinations to select civil servants. Thousands of candidates come to the capital each year. Some may pretend to be honest. Some may use fine talk to conceal their inadequacy. It’s impossible to know. The system leaves much to be desired.”

  WHAT TO OBSERVE IN A MAN

  Wei Zheng told Taizong, “Before a man achieves recognition, observe whom he is associated with; when he occupies high office, see whom he promotes; when he becomes rich, watch what he accumulates; when he is poor, see what he does not accept; when he is in difficulty, notice what he refuses to do. Make use of his strengths and avoid his weaknesses.”

  WARTIME VS. PEACETIME

  Wei Zheng said, “In wartime, we needed talents desperately and had to recruit whoever was available without paying too much attention to his moral aspect. In peacetime, we should only hire those who are both talented and virtuous.”

  A GENTLEMAN’S WEAKNESSES

  Comparing the weaknesses of a gentleman to the strengths of a villain, Wei Zheng commented, “A villain is not without minor virtues, and a gentleman is not without minor weaknesses. The minor weaknesses of a gentleman are like flaws in a piece of jade. A good merchant won’t discard it, because the minor defects don’t affect its beauty as a whole. The minor virtues of a villain are like the edge of a blunt knife. It cuts but doesn’t cut well. A good craftsman won’t be interested because it’s basically defective.”

  SETTING HIGH STANDARDS

  Wei Zheng explained: “The reason we have few ministers who are both talented and virtuous is probably that we haven’t set high enough standards for them and haven’t given them a chance to go through some rigorous tests. If we give them to understand that we have great expectations of them and that patriotism and disinterestedness are ministerial requirements, we’ll give them a goal to strive for.”

  WHAT TANG TAIZONG AND HIS ADVISERS TEACH US TODAY

  * * *

  Moral character was a key criterion for selecting officials in Taizong’s court. But Taizong considered it justifiable to recruit capable people in certain circumstances even though their moral conduct fell short of the standard.

  The question is, how much consideration should be given to a person’s moral conduct and how much to his ability? What should the guidelines be?

  To appreciate Taizong’s insight on the subject, let’s consider three scenarios.

  First, the situation is urgent and the task is important, but few people are qualified for the job. In this case, we can rightly argue for hiring somebody who is capable of doing the job yet has questionable ethics. But it should be a rare event.

  Second, the pressure is moderately high. A fair number of people are qualified for the job. In this case, we may be justified in hiring somebody who is capable but whose behavior is moderately unethical.

  Third, there is no urgency. Many people can do the job. In this instance, we may never be justified in hiring somebody whose conduct is unethical.

  In each case, the merits of the goal and the pressure of the situation must be weighed against the demerits of lowering the ethical standard in hiring. As we become conscious of the implications of such trade-offs, we can make better decisions as to what standard we should set under the circumstances rather than have an unrealistic standard or no standard at all.

  * * *

  I Zeng Guofan (1811–72) was an eminent scholar, official, and military general who was most responsible for suppressing the Taiping Rebellion in the late Qing dynasty.

  4

  On Management

  Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others.

  —JACK WELCHI

  Taizong held daily meetings with his ministers to discuss various issues. Once a policy decision was reached, the Secretariat would draft an imperial order. The draft would be sent to the Chancellery for further deliberation. If there was no objection, it would be forwarded to the Department of State Affairs to execute. The latter controlled the six ministries of finance, defense, justice, civil personnel, public works, and external affairs.

  If the Chancellery disagreed with the imperial order, it could either amend or veto it. No imperial order could be carried out without the approval of both the Secretariat and the Chancellery; the Department of State Affairs also had a say. This process reduced possible mistakes as well as provided checks and balances within the government.

  TANG TAIZONG AND HIS ADVISERS’ WORDS

  * * *

  QUALITY VS. QUANTITY

  Taizong told Prime Minister Fang Xuanling, “The key to good governance lies in having an efficient government. The quality of civil servants is more important than the quantity. If we can’t find qualified people, let there be vacancies. We can manage with fewer but more talented people. After all, what good is it if we hire a lot of mediocre men? In fact the more mediocre men there are, the more likely things will get messed up.”

  SAVING FACE

  Taizong asked officials in the three departments to think independently, stick to principles, dare to disagree, and not muddle through for the sake of saving face.

  He said: “The Secretariat and the Chancellery were set up to check up on each other so as to avoid mistakes. It’s quite natural for them to have different opinions. Some opinions are correct, others are not. But those who hold dissenting views share the same objective—to serve the public interest.

  “Now, some officials try to gloss over their faults. They don’t like criticism and hate those who speak out. Some officials try to avoid conflicts by all means. Even if they know it is a wrong decision, they choose to obey their superiors because they are afraid if they speak out they will cause their superiors to lose face. This kind of behavior must stop. They must understand it is a minor concern to cause somebody to lose face, but it is a serious matter to jeopardize public interest.

  “In the Sui dynasty, many officials took an equivocal attitude on matters of principle. They would say yes to their superior’s face but complain behind his back. They thought they were clever and things would never go against them. But they were dead wrong. Disaster struck in the end. These officials suffered badly and were condemned by public opinion.”

  LOOKING AFTER A PATIENT

  Taizong said to his ministers, “Running a country is not very different from looking after a patient. When the patient begins to recover, he needs special care. Any negligence can endanger his life. We’ve just brought peace and stability to the land, but if we slacken our effort, we can still fail. Living in the palace, it’s impossible for me to know everything. I rely on you as my ears and eyes, as my hands and feet. We belong to o
ne body and we should help each other. So speak out if you find something wrong. If we don’t trust each other and don’t talk honestly, it will be the misfortune of our country.”

  “I am happy to see our country is at peace,” replied Wei Zheng, “but I am even happier to hear what Your Majesty has just said.”

  SENSE OF PROPORTION

  In the beginning, Prime Minster Fang Xuanling and Vice Prime Minister Du Ruhui took everything upon themselves. Taizong was displeased.

  “Your role as prime ministers,” he told them, “is to share my burden, help me run the government, and be my ears and eyes. But I have heard that you spend a lot of time reviewing hundreds of legal cases. If so, you’ll have no time to examine official documents, to say nothing of seeking out worthy men on my behalf.”