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Pleasing both sides best way to survive
March 22, 2009, Sunday
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According to a maxim well-known in feudal China (up to 1911), anyone who wishes to thrive in officialdom has to adopt an attitude called mo2 leng2 liang3 ke3, or "putting a hand on the edge of an object in order to grasp both sides of it."
Mo2 leng2 liang3 ke3, still a popular Chinese idiom today, is an equivalent of the English saying, "to run with the hare and hunt with the hounds" -- that is, to try to please both sides in a conflict.
The idiom originated with a slick and sly minister in the court of the Empress Wu Zetian (AD 624-705). According to historical records, Empress Wu was a very cruel ruler who persecuted hundreds of court officials whom she suspected of revolting against her rule. Therefore, few officials, except for Minister Su Weidao, were able to stay in office for long.
In fact, Minister Su himself was demoted and even sentenced to prison by Empress Wu for allegedly allying himself with some disgraced court officials.
But, time and again, the minister was reinstated simply because he had never really chosen or become loyal to one side or the other.
One day, soon after Su was appointed prime minister by the empress, a young man came to ask about the secret of his success.
Recalling the ups and downs of his career, a thought flitted across the prime minister's mind. Putting his hand on the edge of the back of a chair, Su told the young man: "My son, in officialdom, you should never make a clear-cut decision. Like putting your hand on the edge of an object, you should try to grasp both sides of it. Otherwise, you may be punished for being loyal to just one side."
Su was subsequently nicknamed "Prime Minister Mo Leng" or "prime minister who feels the edge." But the philosophy didn't help in his future career.
After the empress died in AD 705, Su was again demoted and banished to a post in a remote place in northwestern China. He was never recalled to the capital.
Today, the idiom mo2 leng2 liang3 ke3 is often used to describe someone who adopts an equivocal attitude or approach that is deliberately ambiguous.
Mo2 leng2 liang3 ke3, still a popular Chinese idiom today, is an equivalent of the English saying, "to run with the hare and hunt with the hounds" -- that is, to try to please both sides in a conflict.
The idiom originated with a slick and sly minister in the court of the Empress Wu Zetian (AD 624-705). According to historical records, Empress Wu was a very cruel ruler who persecuted hundreds of court officials whom she suspected of revolting against her rule. Therefore, few officials, except for Minister Su Weidao, were able to stay in office for long.
In fact, Minister Su himself was demoted and even sentenced to prison by Empress Wu for allegedly allying himself with some disgraced court officials.
But, time and again, the minister was reinstated simply because he had never really chosen or become loyal to one side or the other.
One day, soon after Su was appointed prime minister by the empress, a young man came to ask about the secret of his success.
Recalling the ups and downs of his career, a thought flitted across the prime minister's mind. Putting his hand on the edge of the back of a chair, Su told the young man: "My son, in officialdom, you should never make a clear-cut decision. Like putting your hand on the edge of an object, you should try to grasp both sides of it. Otherwise, you may be punished for being loyal to just one side."
Su was subsequently nicknamed "Prime Minister Mo Leng" or "prime minister who feels the edge." But the philosophy didn't help in his future career.
After the empress died in AD 705, Su was again demoted and banished to a post in a remote place in northwestern China. He was never recalled to the capital.
Today, the idiom mo2 leng2 liang3 ke3 is often used to describe someone who adopts an equivocal attitude or approach that is deliberately ambiguous.
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