Han Wangxi

IN governance, one of the most beneficial skills is the ability to evaluate people. Zhuangzi, borrowing the words of Confucius, once stated the art of understanding people: To understand a person’s heart is more challenging than reaching heaven. Even heaven has patterns of the four seasons, day and night, while humans? They are complex and ever-changing, with emotions deeply concealed.

Nevertheless, there are various methods to assess people, and here are nine of them:

Sometimes, a wise person sends someone to a distant place to observe their loyalty. When a person is far away and lacks supervision, their true nature becomes most apparent.

Sometimes, a wise person assigns tasks to someone nearby to observe their respect towards them. People may display disrespect and levity when close to those they are familiar with.

Sometimes, they give someone many chaotic tasks to see if they can handle them. A multitude of tasks is the best test of a person’s organizational skills and ability to handle complexity.

Sometimes, they ask a person questions suddenly to see if they respond wisely. Prepared answers are easy to deflect, but unexpected questions are best for testing a person’s wisdom.

Sometimes, they assign a person urgent tasks to assess their reliability. Some individuals disregard rules when situations are dire, and this is the moment when their trustworthiness and principles are tested.

Sometimes, they entrust someone with the management of wealth to observe their integrity. People are most likely to falter when facing treasures and money. Entrusting a person with a significant sum of money reveals their character at a glance, whether they are honest or greedy.

Sometimes, they place someone in a precarious situation to see if they can remain calm under pressure. A person’s willpower and problem-solving abilities are tested by whether they can turn danger into safety, facing death head-on.

Sometimes, they get someone drunk to observe if they lose their sanity after drinking. This tests whether a person has self-control and whether they can remain composed at all times.

Sometimes, they observe whether someone can maintain their integrity in the face of various temptations. This examines whether a person can uphold their principles even when tempted by beauty.

Each of the nine methods mentioned above is a test of human nature, and it is a way to identify the weaknesses of a person naturally.

(The author is a cultural scholar.)

(Translated by Shenzhen Daily)