Wisdom of Official Admonitions -- The Philosophy of Being an Official

Author: Sun Kunpeng, edited by Yang Zhiyong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-02-01
Features: Officials fear not my severity but my integrity; the people do not submit to my ability but to my fairness. Fairness brings enlightenment, integrity brings authority. The way to govern is threefold: to be clean, prudent, and diligent. Knowing these three can preserve one's position, avoid disgrace, gain the favor of superiors, and earn the support of subordinates. — Song Dynasty, Lu Benzhong
From official to minister, from servant to noble, rising step by step, the ups and downs of the world's officialdom are all rooted in this book. — Qing Dynasty, Zeng Guofan
Living in the officialdom, amidst the world, one not only sees splendid flowers and abundant wealth but also faces hardships and helplessness that others cannot understand. Yet once in the officialdom, how should one conduct oneself? The Southern Song scholar Lu Benzhong and the Qing Dynasty's extraordinary official Wang Huizong have given us a great interpretation: being rigid is easily broken, being flexible is easily obscure; one should combine both. Being square shows foolishness, being round is suspected of cunning; one must be square when square, round when round, to be both square and round. Squareness and roundness are the foundation of one's character.