Hu Xueyan's face experience

Author: Sima Lie Ren
Author Country: China
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2001-04-01
Features: "The Red-Capped Merchant" Hu Xueyan once said to Zuo Zongtang, "There are two secrets to my success in the world: First, not to fight for face is the way of the mediocre; to fight for face alone is the way of the crude; the capable do not necessarily fight for face everywhere. Second, when it's time to lose face, lose it boldly; having no face today is for having face tomorrow!"
Excerpt: Hu Xueyan's Private Thoughts 1. Only by gaining a great deal of face can one win the praise of the masses, and this is the ambition of our lives. 2. The capable do not necessarily fight for face everywhere; the vulgar always snatch face everywhere. 3. Without losing a few faces, how can one know the vicissitudes of life? Without losing a few faces, how can one achieve great things? 4. Without face, one must know how to curry favor; with face, one must know how to curry favor even better—never be arrogant. 5. A smile can earn a barrel of silver—this is the art of it! 6. Businessmen are often forced to worry alone, troubled by opportunities and profits, truly looking worried and sorrowful! 7. Thick face is thick black life; life is a big black business. 8. A thin face carries all kinds of schemes, and you must examine it carefully. 9. Those who look sad are not necessarily truly suffering, and those who truly suffer may not always look sad. I have known the bitterness of life but I fear no hardship! 10. Those who only know how to turn hostile do not know the benefits of not turning hostile. My secret to success lies in never being a person who turns hostile and refuses to recognize others. 11. The more face I lose, the more face others gain; the more face others give me, the greater my face and the more wealth I hold. 12. How many in the world have faces that defeat seemingly invincible opponents? Those who could have won but lacked the art of changing faces were tricked by the faces. 13. The foolish begin to lose face unknowingly in the midst of flattery.
Special Revelation in the Table of Contents Hu Xueyan's Private Thoughts 1. The Nature of a Merchant: Earning Money for a Lifetime of Dignity 2. The Ghostly Wisdom of Business: Not Fighting for Face is the Way of the Mediocre; Fighting for Face Alone is the Way of the Crude 3. Success Strategy: Lose Face Boldly When It's Time 4. Survival Tactics: Protecting Face Through Flattery 5. The Secret to Wealth: Welcoming and Sending Off with Smiles, Making Officials Completely at Ease 6. The Skill of Getting Rich: Seeking Opportunities with a Look of Sorrow 7. Not Surprising: Thick Face is for Snatching Business 8. Human Reaction: Thin Face is for Lovers 9. Desperate Wisdom: Pretending to Be Sad to Chase Debts 10. Calculating Opponents: Not Turning Hostile When It's Time 11. Interpersonal Relations: Giving Face Gains Trust 12. The World is the Same: The True Power of Faces 13. Avoiding Risks: The Bigger the Face, the More Cautious One Should Be
Appendix: Hu Xueyan's Secrets of Face 462-463
Appendix: Hu Xueyan's Secrets of Face 1. A person lives a life of exhaustion, panting, for what? Most merchants would answer: "I cannot afford to be poor now, let alone others having more money than me." The language is simple, but the ambition is fierce—all for using money to decorate face, avoiding being pointed at. 2. If a person lacks a bit of face in their lifetime, it means they lack status; conversely, those without status are struggling to gain a bit of face, toiling everywhere. 3. Without face, it is difficult to open up a path in life. Businessmen must make a big deal of face, winning opportunities and profits through it. The common mistake everyone makes is: being too eager to show off, without waiting for the right time. Fame is always crucial—it is an intangible value, an intangible capital. 4. Making fame big means making face big. Most people, in their pursuit of money, destroy their face and reveal greed. This is a great taboo. 5. Confident people deliberately shape their face, but prove their talent with strength. A person in this world must have face in important places, earning respect. 6. Those who can open up a path with their strength have their own face; but this is an extremely arduous process. Some people lose face everywhere because they haven’t found their place. 7. Why have ambitions? Because you must fight for face and seek success—this is human nature. A person should aspire to be someone with a dignified face throughout their life. 8. Some say every successful person has lost face behind the scenes, but the key is their courage to continue fighting for face. True face is forged through hardship. 9. Those who can be crushed have a problem: they lose face and fall into despair. 10. Without a beautiful signboard, it’s like having no face. A false signboard only ruins one’s reputation. 11. The most frustrating thing in a person’s life is being torn apart and treated as a small pawn, so they fight for face everywhere to protect their dignity. In reality, not fighting for face is the way of the mediocre; fighting for face alone is the way of the crude. Fighting for face can be real or fake, but one cannot avoid it. 12. Fighting for face shows ambition, but fighting for face everywhere shows a lack of vision and wisdom. 13. With cunning, one can achieve gains, and thus gain face. 14. Hu Xueyan has face because he has insight, knowing what benefits him and what harms him. Businessmen are all shrewd devils. 15. In Hu Xueyan’s philosophy of face, there is a very important principle: to be a person of both square and round. Why? Circumvention can overcome the impact of recklessness. 16. A truly successful businessman should learn to keep calm, not getting angry at every turn, showing ugly faces. Those who always show anger are actually shallow. 17. The "supplementing of merit" in the business world is very profound; without knowing this, your face will gradually fade.