The ancestor of Chinese business beyond Buffett: Bai Gui

I believe that most people have heard the classic investment aphorism of Buffett, the god of stocks, "Others are greedy and I am afraid, and others are afraid of my greed." "But do you know?" The first to propose this concept was actually a Chinese more than 2,000 years ago.

In the Chronicle of History. He is referred to as the "Ancestor of Zhisheng" in the Chronicle of Cargo Breeding, and he is referred to as the "Ancestor of Shang" in the Book of Han. He is the character we want to share today, Bai Gui in the Warring States period.

Bai Gui studied under Oniguzi in his early years and later became an official in the State of Wei. Bai Gui displayed his outstanding ability to control water, completely relieved the flood that had plagued the Wei state for many years, and boasted that his ability to control water was better than that of Dayu.

Later, the government of the State of Wei became more and more corrupt, and Bai Gui felt bored, and resolutely left the State of Wei to travel around.

Passing through Zhongshan and the State of Qi, the local monarch wanted to keep him as an official. Bai Gui felt that these two countries were acting implausibly and felt that they were about to end up, so he politely declined the invitation. Then he went to the Qin state, where the Shang martingale transformation law was being implemented, and Bai Gui was very disgusted by the policy of emphasizing agriculture and suppressing business, and finally did not stay as an official.

After Bai Gui traveled a bit, he became disgusted with politics, felt that the world was as black as a crow, and felt that it was better to help people work than to start his own business, so he embarked on the road of abandoning politics and business, and finally became rich.

"If you want long money, take down the valley", Bai Gui's understanding of long-term investment is that you should choose items with less elasticity and bias towards just needed. Bai Gui chose to trade agricultural products in bulk and believed that timing transactions were also important according to the economic cycle. Accumulate small into more scale to win. Is Bai Gui's point of view the same as the current situation, how to choose long-term investment? Look at what assets Li Ka-shing has invested in over the years.

Bai Gui also believes that in order to become a qualified businessman or investor, it is necessary to have the following qualities: wisdom, courage, benevolence, and strength. If the intellect is not able to change, the courage is not enough to make decisions, the benevolence is not good at making trade-offs, the strength is not enough to keep the profession, and it is not qualified to talk about the art of business. Did the ancients' standards for businessmen inspire you who want to do business at the moment?

Bai Gui summed up his business principles into eight words, "People abandon me and take, people take me and me.". Is that what Buffett meant?