"One Hole for Benefits" in The Book of Lord Shang: Practical Vindication of an Early Classic of Organizational Management, Clarification of Disputed Passages, and Reconstruction of Its Value
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| Formato: | Recurso digital |
| Lenguaje: | inglés |
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2026
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| _version_ | 1866901079443111936 |
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| author | Yang, Jiacheng |
| author_facet | Yang, Jiacheng |
| contents | <p>As Chinese enterprises accelerate their “going global” strategy, organizational governance in high-risk, weak-rule overseas environments has become a core challenge. From around 2011, the author served in a landmark Chinese project in Africa, primarily responsible for organizational governance, personnel coordination, risk control, and internal and external coordination, managing more than a thousand local employees. In a context of high conflict and weak rules, the author developed a practical governance framework. In 2016, when systematically studying The Book of Lord Shang, the author discovered that its core logic on large-scale organization integration, resource concentration, and incentives aligned perfectly with the governance experience gained in Africa. Yet for a long time, mainstream online narratives have narrowly framed The Book of Lord Shang as a text of monarchical authoritarian tactics, and Shang Yang has been labeled as a representative of harsh punishments, obscuring the core value of his thought. This misinterpretation stems from three points: first, confusing the intended audience—mistaking a top-level governance manual for rulers as a discourse to control the common people; second, narrowing the meaning of “the people” to ordinary subjects, while in the Qin context it encompassed all social strata except the sovereign; third, misinterpreting the concept of “one hole for benefits,” confusing “benefits” with basic subsistence and overlooking its true meaning as a channel for surplus rewards—ranks, land, promotion—that provided upward mobility. In light of this, this paper breaks free from traditional moralizing critiques, adopts the perspective of large-scale organizational governance, draws on the author’s practical experience, and uses unearthed evidence such as the Shuihudi Qin bamboo slips, Yuelu Qin bamboo slips, and Liye Qin bamboo slips to reinterpret the systematic management thought in The Book of Lord Shang, restoring its original status as a classic of organizational management. The paper argues that The Book of Lord Shang is the earliest management text to form a complete governance structure and operational logic; “one hole for benefits” does not deprive the people, but rather establishes a unified, fair, and predictable promotion and distribution mechanism, achieving alignment between state objectives and individual interests. At the same time, one-sided, labeled interpretations of The Book of Lord Shang have spread widely online, causing strong misconceptions among young people, distorting the original meaning of Legalist thought and, to some extent, generating a negative overall evaluation of China’s historical tradition, which hinders the formation of objective and rational historical understanding. This paper follows the structure “background explanation – personal understanding – original text – corresponding Qin law – corresponding historical event – theoretical reference,” using both unearthed documents and historical events to restore the true place of Shang Yang and The Book of Lord Shang, and to provide a practical reference for Chinese enterprises’ overseas governance in high-risk scenarios. Comments and criticism from all quarters are earnestly solicited.</p> |
| format | Recurso digital |
| id | zenodo_https___doi_org_10_5281_zenodo_19353533 |
| institution | Zenodo |
| language | eng |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| publisher | Zenodo |
| record_format | zenodo |
| spellingShingle | "One Hole for Benefits" in The Book of Lord Shang: Practical Vindication of an Early Classic of Organizational Management, Clarification of Disputed Passages, and Reconstruction of Its Value Yang, Jiacheng The Book of Lord Shang one hole for benefits surplus rewards organizational management weakening the people agriculture and warfare using a rat as bait management psychology order construction Qin law evidence meaning of "the people" corporate overseas governance <p>As Chinese enterprises accelerate their “going global” strategy, organizational governance in high-risk, weak-rule overseas environments has become a core challenge. From around 2011, the author served in a landmark Chinese project in Africa, primarily responsible for organizational governance, personnel coordination, risk control, and internal and external coordination, managing more than a thousand local employees. In a context of high conflict and weak rules, the author developed a practical governance framework. In 2016, when systematically studying The Book of Lord Shang, the author discovered that its core logic on large-scale organization integration, resource concentration, and incentives aligned perfectly with the governance experience gained in Africa. Yet for a long time, mainstream online narratives have narrowly framed The Book of Lord Shang as a text of monarchical authoritarian tactics, and Shang Yang has been labeled as a representative of harsh punishments, obscuring the core value of his thought. This misinterpretation stems from three points: first, confusing the intended audience—mistaking a top-level governance manual for rulers as a discourse to control the common people; second, narrowing the meaning of “the people” to ordinary subjects, while in the Qin context it encompassed all social strata except the sovereign; third, misinterpreting the concept of “one hole for benefits,” confusing “benefits” with basic subsistence and overlooking its true meaning as a channel for surplus rewards—ranks, land, promotion—that provided upward mobility. In light of this, this paper breaks free from traditional moralizing critiques, adopts the perspective of large-scale organizational governance, draws on the author’s practical experience, and uses unearthed evidence such as the Shuihudi Qin bamboo slips, Yuelu Qin bamboo slips, and Liye Qin bamboo slips to reinterpret the systematic management thought in The Book of Lord Shang, restoring its original status as a classic of organizational management. The paper argues that The Book of Lord Shang is the earliest management text to form a complete governance structure and operational logic; “one hole for benefits” does not deprive the people, but rather establishes a unified, fair, and predictable promotion and distribution mechanism, achieving alignment between state objectives and individual interests. At the same time, one-sided, labeled interpretations of The Book of Lord Shang have spread widely online, causing strong misconceptions among young people, distorting the original meaning of Legalist thought and, to some extent, generating a negative overall evaluation of China’s historical tradition, which hinders the formation of objective and rational historical understanding. This paper follows the structure “background explanation – personal understanding – original text – corresponding Qin law – corresponding historical event – theoretical reference,” using both unearthed documents and historical events to restore the true place of Shang Yang and The Book of Lord Shang, and to provide a practical reference for Chinese enterprises’ overseas governance in high-risk scenarios. Comments and criticism from all quarters are earnestly solicited.</p> |
| title | "One Hole for Benefits" in The Book of Lord Shang: Practical Vindication of an Early Classic of Organizational Management, Clarification of Disputed Passages, and Reconstruction of Its Value |
| topic | The Book of Lord Shang one hole for benefits surplus rewards organizational management weakening the people agriculture and warfare using a rat as bait management psychology order construction Qin law evidence meaning of "the people" corporate overseas governance |
| url | https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19353533 |