From the Han Dynasty’s Governor-Inspector System to How We Evaluate a Good Company Today
There was a period in my life when I bought and read books constantly, and most of them were history books. I read across nearly every era of Chinese history, from the ancient Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties all the way to modern times, without leaving major gaps in between.
This morning, I happened to see a post by someone discussing Japanese workplace culture, and it reminded me of some historical parallels worth sharing.
The Governor-Inspector System of the Han Dynasty
Over more than 2,000 years of imperial Chinese history since the Qin Dynasty, there were over 400 emperors. Yet truly exceptional rulers — those who were both visionary and capable — were incredibly rare. You could probably count them on one hand. Qin Shi Huang Ying Zheng, Emperor Wu of Han Liu Che, Emperor Taizong Li Shimin of Tang, Emperor Taizu Zhao Kuangyin of Song, Genghis Khan, and the Kangxi Emperor of Qing — perhaps only these six truly qualify. Could you imagine combining all six into one person? That would be unstoppable. Haha.
Even so, figures like Ying Zheng and Genghis Khan, though unmatched in conquest and expansion, also faced limitations. They excelled at building empires but struggled to preserve them. The Qin Dynasty collapsed after only two generations and lasted barely over a decade. Genghis Khan’s empire, meanwhile, relied heavily on military conquest and expansion; such a vast territory was destined to fragment sooner or later.
On the other hand, I’ve always felt that the Han Dynasty’s system of governors (taishou) and inspectors (cishi), which supported a dynasty lasting over 400 years, reflected remarkable administrative wisdom.
- Experienced, politically savvy, worldly individuals were appointed as regional governors. Since they were responsible for practical local administration, such people were more capable of maintaining stable governance.
- Meanwhile, young, upright, sharp-edged, and uncompromising individuals were appointed as inspectors to supervise governors and officials. Only people with that kind of temperament could effectively restrain power and expose corruption.
People who don’t understand the logic behind this system might think it useless to have lower-ranking, inexperienced, or politically naïve officials supervise powerful governors. In reality, however, the opposite was true. If inspectors had been selected by the same standards as governors, the two sides would often become complicit with one another.
The warlord system of the late Eastern Han Dynasty is a perfect example. Provincial governors gradually became local kings, increasingly detached from the central government.
Looking at modern times, I feel that Hong Kong’s Independent Commission Against Corruption follows essentially the same principle as the ancient inspector system.
Judging a Company by Looking at Three Types of People
Returning to the perspective of ordinary people: finding a good job or making a good investment is something we all care about. Whether in work or investing, selection matters enormously — often even more than effort itself.
And what are we really selecting? Usually, it’s a company.
A company’s greatest asset is its people. Personally, I think you only need to look at three things to judge whether a company is worth believing in:
- Does it have a visionary leader capable of steering the ship?
- Does it have partners who are socially skilled, politically astute, and capable of handling complex relationships and public affairs?
- Does it have young employees who are passionate, aggressive, and unafraid to speak or act boldly?
If you can genuinely accept the existence of all these types of people within a company, then I think your choice is probably a good one.
And if you’re simply buying stocks, then perhaps paying attention to management drama and personnel-related news — combined with technical analysis — may sometimes be more useful than obsessing over financial reports or insider rumors.