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At the Mercy of Ants - Part 1

Laozi said that a beached whale is at the mercy of ants, and the prince who forgets his place and does a servant's work is at the mercy of bureaucrats.

A prince keeps his throne by doing nothing. He knows his place and builds trust by listening closely. Ministers and subordinates respect his judgement and don't question it. Instead, they hold superiors to account by serving them.

When a prince doesn't trust the experts and likes doing it himself, his judgement gets worse every day and he has only himself to blame. He can't be objective when he rubs shoulders with subordinates, and he can't stay in charge when he steps down from the throne. And when his judgement no longer inspires obedience and his position no longer commands respect, there's no way for him to influence subordinates.

When he takes every whim and slight to heart, when he plays favourites in public, those who once knew their place stop doing the right thing and start pandering to superiors. When public servants break the law and serve themselves, when they're not rewarded for merit, not held accountable for corruption, that's when ruler and ruled take grudges to heart.

When the prince and his servants resent each other, when his team is in chaos and no one trusts his judgement, when problems arise and no one follows his orders, when mistakes are made and he blames others instead, that's when the master is weak and servants are lazy.

That's how those who wield the great craftsman's blade rarely don't cut their own hands.

Vocabulary

lǎo
老 125 + 0
old, aged; experienced; Kangxi radical 125
zi zǐ
子 39 + 0
offspring, child; fruit, seed of; first earthly branch
yuē
曰 73 + 0
say; Kangxi radical 73
jīng qíng
魚 195 + 8
whale
魚 195 + 0
fish; surname; Kangxi radical 195
shī yì
大 37 + 2
lose; make mistake, neglect
shuǐ
水 85 + 0
water, liquid, lotion, juice
刀 18 + 7
rule, law, regulation; grades
zhì
刀 18 + 6
system; establish; overpower
yú wū
方 70 + 4
in, at, on; interjection alas!
lóu
虫 142 + 11
a mole cricket, Gryllotalpa orientalis
yǐ jǐ
虫 142 + 13
ants
rén
人 9 + 0
man; people; mankind; someone else
jūn
口 30 + 4
sovereign, monarch, ruler, chief, prince
shè shě
舌 135 + 2
house, dwelling; dwell, reside
qí jī
八 12 + 6
his, her, its, their; that
suǒ
戶 63 + 4
place, location; numerary adjunct
shǒu shòu
宀 40 + 3
defend, protect, guard, conserve
ér néng
而 126 + 0
and; and then; and yet; but; Kangxi radical 126
yǔ yú
臼 134 + 8
and; with; to; for; give, grant
chén
臣 131 + 0
minister, statesman, official; Kangxi radical 131
zhēng zhèng
爪 87 + 4
to dispute, fight, contend, strive
shì zì
亅 6 + 7
affair, matter, business; to serve; accident, incident
yǒu yòu
月 74 + 2
have, own, possess; exist
sī cí
口 30 + 2
take charge of, control, manage; officer
yǐ sì
人 9 + 3
by means of; thereby, therefore; consider as; in order to
wú mó
火 86 + 8
negative, no, not; lack, have no
wèi
火 86 + 5
do, handle, govern, act; be
chí
手 64 + 6
sustain, support; hold, grasp
wèi lì
人 9 + 5
throne; position, post; rank, status; seat
zhí tè
耳 128 + 12
duty, profession; office, post
zhě
老 125 + 4
that which; he who; those who
tīng
耳 128 + 16
hear, listen; understand; obey
cóng zòng
彳 60 + 8
from, by, since, whence, through
qǔ qū
又 29 + 6
take, receive, obtain; select
róng yǒng
宀 40 + 7
looks, appearance; figure, form
xià
一 1 + 2
under, underneath, below; down; inferior; bring down
cáng zàng
艸 140 + 14
hide, conceal; hoard, store up
zhì
日 72 + 8
wisdom, knowledge, intelligence
bù fǒu
一 1 + 3
no, not; un-; negative prefix
yòng
用 101 + 0
use, employ, apply, operate; use
fǎn fàn
又 29 + 2
reverse, opposite, contrary, anti
zhuān tuán
寸 41 + 8
monopolize, take sole possession
shàng shǎng
一 1 + 2
top; superior, highest; go up, send up
rèn rén
人 9 + 4
trust to, rely on, appoint; to bear, duty, office; allow
néng tái
肉 130 + 6
to be able; can, permitted to; ability
hǎo hào
女 38 + 3
good, excellent, fine; well
自 132 + 0
self, private, personal; from; Kangxi radical 132
日 72 + 0
sun; day; daytime
kùn
囗 31 + 4
to surround, besiege; to be surrounded; difficult; hexagram ䷮
貝 154 + 2
load, burden; carry, bear
zé zhài
貝 154 + 4
one's responsibility, duty
shù shǔ
攴 66 + 11
number; several; count; fate
qióng
穴 116 + 10
poor, destitute, impoverished
shēn
田 102 + 0
to state to a superior, report; extend; ninth earthly branch
玉 96 + 7
reason, logic; manage
xíng háng
行 144 + 0
go; walk; move, travel; circulate; Kangxi radical 144
duò huī
土 32 + 12
fall, sink, let fall; degenerate
zú jù
足 157 + 0
foot; attain, satisfy, enough; Kangxi radical 156
zhì chí
水 85 + 5
govern, regulate, administer
wēi
女 38 + 6
pomp, power; powerful; dominate
xíng
刀 18 + 4
punishment, penalty; law
jiāo
亠 8 + 4
mix; intersect; exchange, communicate; deliver
yǐ xián
矢 111 + 2
particle of completed action
xǐ xī
口 30 + 9
like, love, enjoy; joyful thing
心 61 + 5
anger, rage, passion; angry
xíng
彡 59 + 4
form, shape, appearance
xīn
心 61 + 0
heart; mind, intelligence; soul; 5th lunar mansion, determinative star α Scorpii (Antares)
shì
口 30 + 10
be fond of, have weakness for
欠 76 + 7
desire, want, long for; intend
jiàn xiàn
見 147 + 0
see, observe, behold; perceive; Kangxi radical 147
wài
夕 36 + 2
out, outside, external; foreign
lí lì
隹 172 + 11
leave, depart; go away; separate; trigram ☲; hexagram ䷝
zhèng zhēng
止 77 + 1
right, proper, correct
ā ē
阜 170 + 5
prefix for people's names; used in transliteration
wǎng kuáng
木 75 + 4
useless, in vain; bent, crooked
水 85 + 5
law, rule, regulation, statute; France, French
fēng fèng
風 182 + 0
wind; air; manners, atmosphere; Kangxi radical 182
shǎng
貝 154 + 8
reward, grant, bestow; appreciate
dāng dàng
田 102 + 8
bear, accept, undertake; just
gōng
力 19 + 3
achievement, merit, good result
zhū
言 149 + 6
execute, kill, put to death; punish
yīng yìng
心 61 + 13
should, ought to, must
zuì
网 122 + 8
crime, sin, vice; evil; hardship
guāi
丿 4 + 7
rebel; crafty, shrewd
xiāng xiàng
目 109 + 4
mutual, reciprocal, each other
yuàn yùn
心 61 + 5
hatred, enmity, resentment
bǎi bó
白 106 + 1
one hundred; numerous, many
guān
宀 40 + 5
official, public servant
fán
火 86 + 9
bother, vex, trouble; troublesome
luàn
乙 5 + 12
confusion, state of chaos; create chaos, revolt
jiě jiè
角 148 + 6
loosen, unfasten, untie; explain; hexagram ䷧
fēi fěi
非 175 + 0
not, negative, non-; oppose; Kangxi radical 175
言 149 + 14
fame, reputation; praise
méng míng
艸 140 + 8
bud, sprout
shēng
生 100 + 0
life, living, lifetime; birth
míng mèng
日 72 + 4
bright, light, brilliant; clear
zhào
火 86 + 9
shine, illumine, reflect
jǐ qǐ
己 49 + 0
self, oneself; personal, private; 6th heavenly stem
zhī zhū
丿 4 + 3
marks preceding phrase as modifier of following phrase; it, him her, them; go to
zhǔ zhù
丶 3 + 4
master, chief owner; host; lord
心 61 + 9
more and more, even more
láo lào
力 19 + 10
labor, toil, do manual work
yì dié
人 9 + 5
indulge in pleasures; flee
shì tí
日 72 + 5
indeed, yes, right; to be; demonstrative pronoun, this, that
dài
人 9 + 3
replace, replacement (of person or generation); era, generation
dà dài
大 37 + 0
big, great, vast, large, high
jiàng
匚 22 + 4
craftsman, artisan; workman
zhuó
斤 69 + 10
cut, chop, hack
巾 50 + 4
rare; hope, expect, strive for
shāng
人 9 + 11
wound, injury; fall ill from
shǒu
手 64 + 0
hand