Hi friends! Today I'm going to talk about the sixth book of Bo Yang's version of Tongjian Jishi Benmo (通鑒纪事本末), specifically about horrible internal rivalries.
The incident I'll discuss concerns the Eastern Han Dynasty's relationship with nomadic tribes. These weren't a single ethnic group but many different tribes with complicated relationships. What we can learn from these ancient historical events is still relevant to our lives today.
The Historical Context:
Sima Guang wanted to illustrate the stupidity and greed of people. The Eastern Han initially appeared to maintain peace with various nomadic tribes, but different officials had different approaches to managing these relationships. As we know, secrets can never be hidden forever—there are always whistleblowers or people who talk.
Ban Chao (班超), for example, gave each tribal chief extra favors so they would keep their people peaceful and obedient. But here's the problem: while the chiefs might keep the secret, what about their people? As tribes interacted with one another, they would discover that every chief was getting extra favors from the Han general, but no one was getting more than the others.
This created problems. The tribes became dissatisfied because they wanted more than their neighbors. Their expectations grew larger and larger. Back then, there was no paper money—only precious metals and minerals, which were limited. The Eastern Han's capacity to give was limited, so the general in charge of the western territories had to impose restrictions.
How the Rivalries Developed:
Now the real trouble began. From the Han standpoint, when a tribal chief came to the palace requesting grants, he needed to give a reasonable explanation. I'm speculating here because we're talking about events from the first and second centuries—nearly two thousand years ago.
The most common reason given was reporting that a nearby tribe was rebellious. If a tribe could eliminate these "rebels" and help defend the Han, they could receive great fortunes—far more than if they simply surrendered peacefully. Once neighboring tribes learned that eliminating others brought greater rewards, they too would attack their neighbors to secure more wealth.
This pattern started in the mid-first century and escalated into the second century. Across the western grasslands, tribes turned on each other to obtain grants from the Eastern Han Empire. This is why Sima Guang titled this section as he did—he felt sorry for those people who were initially unrelated but had to fight and die because of this system.
Modern Parallels:
Let me share some observations. In criminology, when studying theft, you'll find that thieves often succeed because someone around them intentionally leaked information or even helped them steal. In China, we have cameras everywhere, making it difficult for thieves to operate undetected—unless they have inside help or information about how to avoid the cameras.
Similarly, in the corporate world, especially among sales teams, there's a phenomenon where salespeople steal clients from their colleagues rather than finding new ones. Companies have policies against this behavior, but there are always rule-breakers. Why?
Just like the Han situation with nomadic tribes, it's easier to take what already exists than to create something new. It's selfishness and human nature. Many people prefer easy money. There's something psychologically appealing about getting something you didn't fully earn—it feels more exciting than receiving what you deserve.
This is why internal rivalry exists. Whether it's tribes fighting each other or coworkers competing unethically, when people can get something the easy way, why would they consider the hard way?
I remember reading somewhere that the cost of finding a new customer is four times the cost of maintaining an existing one. Stealing a customer from a colleague is probably just slightly more difficult than maintaining an existing customer, but much easier than acquiring a completely new one.
Conclusion:
Internal rivalry seems to be part of human nature. We need to use our rationality and righteousness to stop ourselves—or try to persuade and influence others not to do this. Thank you.
 
#Greed and selfishness#Zero-sum competition#Unearned reward psychology#Insider threat behavior#Rational self-interest#Scarcity mindset
 
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