Power rules

Author: Zou Jimeng
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-08-01
Features: This is a work about the power dynamics in ancient Chinese officialdom. In ancient China, a person involved in the officialdom had to face several aspects of relationships, namely the relationship between superiors and subordinates, the relationship between subordinates and superiors, and the relationships among colleagues. In handling all these relationships—such as how superiors could control subordinates, how subordinates could serve superiors, how colleagues could interact with each other, and how officials could protect themselves—all required strategy, wit, and cunning. In this book, Professor Zou Jimeng organizes the content around four key aspects: seeking power, holding power, consolidating power, and losing power. By combining a vast array of historical facts, he has extracted hundreds of cases related to the relationships in officialdom across Chinese history, analyzed and evaluated them, and revealed the power rules of ancient Chinese officialdom. It can be said that the cunning and strategic shifts of thousands of years of political turmoil are fully captured in this book, and the schemes and manipulations of countless officials are vividly presented.