he will not put up for a moment with the cuffs and kicks so freely
administered to his Indian colleague. A respectable Chinese servant
will often refuse to remain with a master who uses abusive or violent
language, or shows signs of uncontrollable temper. A lucrative place is
as nothing compared with the "loss of face" which he would suffer in the
eyes of his friends; in other words, with his loss of dignity as a man.
If a servant will put up with a blow, the best course is to dismiss
him at once, as worthless and unreliable, if not actually dangerous.
Confucius said: "If you mistrust a man, do not employ him; if you employ
a man, do not mistrust him;" and this will still be found to be an
excellent working rule in dealings with Chinese servants.



CHAPTER IV--A.D. 220-1200

The long-lived and glorious House of Han was brought to a close by the
usual causes. There were palace intrigues and a temporary usurpation of
the throne, eunuchs of course being in the thick of the mischief;
added to which a very serious rebellion broke out, almost as a natural
consequence. First and last there arose three aspirants to the Imperial
yellow, which takes the place of purple in ancient Rome; the result
being that, after some years of hard fighting, China was divided into
three parts, each ruled by one of the three rivals. The period is known
in history as that of the Three Kingdoms, and lasted from A.D. 220 to
A.D. 265. This short space of time was filled, especially the early
years, with stirring deeds of heroism and marvellous strategical
operations, fortune favouring first one of the three commanders and then
another. The whole story of these civil wars is most graphically told in
a famous historical romance composed about a thousand years afterwards.