The soldier retreating fifty paces mocks the one retreating a hundred
A king is haunted by the declining number of his people. He asks his counselor: “I have given all my heart to my country. When the northern bank of the river has a bad harvest and people there are starving, I would move them to the southern bank and send grains over there. The same when the starvation happens at the southern bank. I have studied our neighboring countries. None of them has done as much as I have. But the people in the neighborhood have not reduced because of the poor government, while my people have not increased after my hard work. Why?”
“My King. You like wars, so allow me to draw an analogy of war,” answers the counselor. “When the war drums start to beat, the soldiers on both sides crash into each other, the blades and axes strike together. Then we will see soldiers fleeing the battlefield, with their helmets and armors falling to the ground and weapons dragging behind. Some soldiers have retreated fifty paces, some a hundred. Those running for fifty mock those of a hundred. What’s your thought about it, my King? “
“It’s not right,” replies the king, “regardless of how many paces he has made. Fewer than a hundred paces are still an escape.”
“Once you’ve understood this, it shouldn’t be harder to accept it — our people are not more than our neighboring countries. What you have done is just a little part compared to what you haven’t. Look at the policies you use to rule the country. If you leave the farmers on the field in the busy season, instead of forcing them to serve the government affairs, people would have an endless supply of crops. If the government fishing squad doesn’t use small size nets, they would have an endless supply of fishes. If you send the logging workers to the forest according to the season, they would have an endless supply of wood. Having the end supply of crops, fishes, and wood, people would have nothing to fear and regret. Having people who fear and regret nothing, my King, it’s the start of a new kingcraft.”
“You don’t stop the rich family from feeding their pets with what should be fed to people. Lying on the road are the people starving to death, while you keep the government grain-house shut. You dodge the responsibility for people’s death, instead, you shift the blame to the bad harvest. It’s like the murderer blaming his knife after the killing. After you stop shifting the blame, the people of the world will start shifting to your land. How could you see the number going down? ”
Takeaway: When it comes to self-awareness, there are plenty of fables in almost every culture and language. To name some in the English dictionary: “A miss is as good as a mile” and “The pot calling the kettle back.” But this story from ancient China adds a layer of sense in terms of communication skills. Because the king was a war mania. That was the root cause of the declining number of his people and, of course, all of the sufferings. Pointing out it, the counselor was well aware, would highly likely risk his life. So he delicately drew the analogy of war. That was not successful persuasion — the king continued his war madness and his people continued to be driven away from their farmland. Soon the kingdom ended up in ruins.
