As the saying goes, a companion is like a companion tiger. Ancient officials, when talking to the emperor, must have been very careful, serious, and skilled.
In fact, this attitude and these techniques, even in modern times, are worth referencing.
Being a person who is attentive, serious, and considers the feelings of both sides is the only way to succeed.
01
A minister can't count?
When Shi Qing was a servant, he once went on a tour with the emperor, and the emperor asked him, "How many horses did we ride?" He used a horse whip
slowly
The earth counted for half a day before answering the emperor, "Six horses."
6 horses counting for half a day, this is no longer considered respectful, it is simply a bit of a deliberate suspicion of stupidity.
Does Shi Qing really not know how to count? Of course not!
He wanted to give the emperor the impression that he was reliable, dutiful, and infallible.
Sure enough, the emperor trusted him so much that he became a high-ranking official of two thousand stones and gave him the title of "Ten Thousand Stones King".
Even Sima Qian believed that Shi Qing was the expression of Confucius's saying that "a gentleman is sensitive to things and cautious in his words".
Get along with important people, I'd rather do things slowly, but don't make mistakes.
02
Zeng Guofan who was released as a pigeon
When Zeng Guofan was just in the middle of the army, the chancellor Mu Zhang'a desperately recommended to the Xianfeng Emperor that "Zeng Guofan should be careful when things happen, and can be reused", and finally, the emperor was annoyed by the nagging and decided to summon Zeng Guofan once.
One morning, the summons asked Zeng Guofan to go to a room to wait there, but after waiting for half a day, he did not see the emperor, and when Zeng Guofan was suspicious, a small eunuch came and said, "The saint will summon him again tomorrow."
Zeng Guofan returned home depressed and met with his teacher Mu Zhang'a, who said:
"Have you noticed what calligraphy and paintings are hanging in the room?"
Zeng Guofan shook his head.
Mu Zhang'a quickly paid someone to go to that room, copied down all the contents of the calligraphy and paintings, and let Zeng Guofan memorize them overnight.
The next day, the emperor summoned Zeng Guofan and asked: Have you ever noticed the calligraphy and paintings on the wall?
Zeng Guofan replied like a stream.
After summoning Zeng Guofan, the Daoguang Emperor said to Mu Zhang'a:
"You said you were paying attention to something before, and now it seems that this is indeed the case."
Sure enough, he began to reuse Zeng Guofan.
Therefore, in the face of this opportunity, we really have to pay special attention!
The so-called attention to learning everywhere refers to this.
03
Two wrong answers, tragic celebrity who has been unemployed for 6 consecutive years
What happens if I get it wrong?
Feng Guifen, a famous scholar of the Qing Dynasty, is a negative case.
He was facing the same above, the suspicious Xianfeng Emperor.
Once the emperor suddenly asked him:
"What books do you usually read?"
Feng: Book of Han
XianFeng happened to be reading kuang heng biography in the Book of Han at that time, so he asked:
XianFeng: Tell me the story of Kuang Heng.
Feng: I...
Xian Feng was very angry and felt that he was simply a bully! Punish him for not going to work and going back to his hometown to study for three years! O bully! It's good not to kill your head.
Three years later, he entered Beijing. The Emperor saw him.
Xian Feng: "How did you read the Book of Han?" Who participated in the disaster of the party? ”
Feng: "I'm reading the Book of the Former Han Dynasty, and it seems to be the Book of the Later Han Dynasty, and I haven't had time to read it yet." ”
The emperor was even more angry, so he punished him to go home and study for three years.
Later, Lao Feng seriously read the "Book of the Former Han Dynasty" and the "Book of the Later Han Dynasty" and entered Beijing again, thinking that he could score 100 points this time.
Unexpectedly, the Xianfeng Emperor died, and for a time this matter became a joke in the capital, and he could not continue to mix, so he had to leave his post again and return to his hometown and write "The Protest of the School Award"
Therefore, in the face of important people and events, we must be fully prepared.
04
The emperor actually asked shusheng whose words looked better? How can this be answered?
Everyone knows that Wang Xianzhi is the son of Wang Xizhi, and the calligraphy is very divine, for example:
And the Eastern Jin Dynasty Jianwen Emperor also likes calligraphy, but compared with Wang Xianzhi, it is simply a master than a primary school student, the following is the calligraphy of the Eastern Jin Dynasty JianwenDi:
On the contrary, Emperor Jianwen one day called Wang Xianzhi on a whim and said:
"How does Qing think the word for 朕 compares to Ru?"
Compare it with Wang Xianzhi.
How can this be answered?
You must know that Emperor JianWen was a person who was not good at serving.
If the emperor's words are better than the king's dedication, it is obviously nonsense, maybe it is the crime of deceiving the king, and if it is heavy, it is possible to destroy the door!
If the emperor's words are not as good as Wang Xianzhi's, the son of heaven is angry, and he may be killed on the spot!
What to do?
"The emperor's words are naturally good." Wang Xianzhi replied.
Unexpectedly, Emperor Jian Wendi asked endlessly.
"How about a good law?" Emperor JianWen was not satisfied enough, so he continued to ask,
"How about comparing with Qing Qing?"
"The calligraphy of His Majesty, the first of the emperors; For the calligraphy of the subjects, the first among the subjects. Wang Xianzhi replied unashamedly.
What a clever answer!
Wang Xianzhi cleverly dismantled Emperor Jianwen's question into two questions, namely, "Who is the first among the emperors?" Who is the first among the courtiers", which not only elevates the status of the emperor, but also avoids the embarrassment of having to compare with the courtiers.
Not only did he save his dignity, but he also took care of the emperor's face: you are the first among the emperors! What a cow! In the end, the people who asked and answered were very satisfied!
Emperor Jianwen was so satisfied with Wang Xianzhi's answer that he insisted on marrying his daughter to him!
In the workplace, we often encounter similar problems such as "scrambling" and "competing for the first", if you do not want to answer similar questions head-on, you can bypass the essence of the problem and talk about the problem related to it. On the surface, this method does not answer what is asked, but in fact it is to retreat into progress, which is intended to be beyond words.
Also, consider the other person's feelings.
05
The wisdom of doing things in life and speaking
To summarize:
Usually take the things around you seriously, and pay attention to learning everywhere.
When encountering important people and things, be sure to be well prepared, rather slow, do not make mistakes. Important characters, often the action, language is slow, you pay attention to observe, those real super big people in the movie, which one is in a hurry? Aren't words and deeds slow?
When interacting with people, fully consider each other's feelings, and when encountering difficult problems, it is better to answer the questions than to offend the other party. It doesn't matter if you don't answer, answering incorrectly can be fatal.
This article was originally written by Minghong, a former senior lecturer at Hewlett-Packard University in China