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Tight-lipped counsel -- 守口如瓶 (shou3 kou3 ru2 ping2)
By Zhang Ciyun |
August 16, 2009, Sunday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
TO excel in officialdom, one must follow some rules. According to a high-ranking official in the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127), the most important rule is "shou3 kou3 ru2 ping2" or "to keep your mouth shut as tight as a jar lid."
Fu Bi was a highly gifted young man when he first met Fan Zhongyan, a famous scholar in Chinese history. Fan appreciated the young man?s talent and learning and recommended him to the minister in charge of military affairs in the imperial court.
Fu soon married the minister?s daughter and was appointed by the emperor as a county judge. He then rose meteorically to be prime minister in the imperial court.
However, Fu didn?t see eye to eye with his colleague Wang Anshi, a well-known reformist of the time. He knew that Wang would someday replace him as prime minister, but he never talked about it to anyone.
One day, the emperor asked Fu who he would recommend as his successor in the future. Fu mentioned the name of an official other than Wang. The emperor did not make any comment.
Then the emperor asked whether Fu would agree to having Wang as his successor. This time, Fu failed to reply. So, the monarch immediately realized that Fu and Wang did not get along.
When Wang began to push ahead his bold rural economic reform program, Fu resigned from his post and went back to live in his home village in Henan Province.
Despite the fact that he had already left the court, Fu kept writing to the emperor making proposals and airing frank comments on state affairs. And the emperor, though not always following Fu?s advice, still spoke highly of his former aide.
Some friends once asked Fu what was the most important rule that one must follow in pursuing a political career like his. Fu said: "You should keep your mouth shut as tight as a jar lid."
Since then, Fu's expression, "shou3 kou3 ru2 ping2" has become a very popular Chinese idiom. People often quote it to describe someone who is tight-lipped or who breathes not a single word about a secret. It is now also deemed as a virtue of someone who is trustworthy.
Fu Bi was a highly gifted young man when he first met Fan Zhongyan, a famous scholar in Chinese history. Fan appreciated the young man?s talent and learning and recommended him to the minister in charge of military affairs in the imperial court.
Fu soon married the minister?s daughter and was appointed by the emperor as a county judge. He then rose meteorically to be prime minister in the imperial court.
However, Fu didn?t see eye to eye with his colleague Wang Anshi, a well-known reformist of the time. He knew that Wang would someday replace him as prime minister, but he never talked about it to anyone.
One day, the emperor asked Fu who he would recommend as his successor in the future. Fu mentioned the name of an official other than Wang. The emperor did not make any comment.
Then the emperor asked whether Fu would agree to having Wang as his successor. This time, Fu failed to reply. So, the monarch immediately realized that Fu and Wang did not get along.
When Wang began to push ahead his bold rural economic reform program, Fu resigned from his post and went back to live in his home village in Henan Province.
Despite the fact that he had already left the court, Fu kept writing to the emperor making proposals and airing frank comments on state affairs. And the emperor, though not always following Fu?s advice, still spoke highly of his former aide.
Some friends once asked Fu what was the most important rule that one must follow in pursuing a political career like his. Fu said: "You should keep your mouth shut as tight as a jar lid."
Since then, Fu's expression, "shou3 kou3 ru2 ping2" has become a very popular Chinese idiom. People often quote it to describe someone who is tight-lipped or who breathes not a single word about a secret. It is now also deemed as a virtue of someone who is trustworthy.
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