E frankly, and without a pang, the superior position and the rights of
his master; but at the same time, if worth keeping, he will exact from
his master the proper respect due from man to man. It is wholly beside
the mark to say that 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 hist