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Liu Bang was the founder and first emperor of the Han Dynasty (202BC-220AD).

Never before in history did a man from the bottom of the social stratum become an emperor of China. His success is widely attributed to his capability of employing capable people and listening to smart advice. He accepted advice even if it came from someone he disliked intensely at first.

Liu Bang was washing his feet when Li Yiji came to visit. Arrogantly, Liu Bang continued to have his feet in the water basin while seeing the visitor. The scholar said, “If you really wish to unite other heroes to fight the ruthless Qin Dynasty, you shouldnt be this arrogant to see an elderly scholar.” Liu Bang immediately stood up and dressed himself properly. After asking the scholar to take a seat, Liu Bang apologized and asked the scholar most respectfully for advice.

Xiao He advised Liu Bang to appoint Han Xin as a senior general, saying that no one else could contribute more to his dynasty ambition and that that man should be put into a key military commanding position. Liu Bang accepted the advice. An altar was built. An appointment ceremony was held on an auspicious day and Han Xin was appointed to lead an army.

After the founding of the Han Dynasty, Lu Jia, a scholar minister, often quoted in court discussions the Book of Songs and the Book of History, two ancient classic collections. Liu Bang, a man without much classic education, disliked scholars in general. He flared up one day after hearing another quotation from Lu Jia. The emperor justified his dislikes strongly: “I gained the empire on the horseback without referring to these rubbish books.” Lu Jia answered, “Your majesty indeed gained the empire on the horseback, but how can you rule the empire from the horseback? If the Qin Dynasty had followed the ancient emperors policy of kindness and justice after it unified China, Your majesty would have had no chance to be sitting on the throne today.”

The shamefaced Liu Bang apologized and, with great respect, asked Lu Jia to lecture on wise and unwise ways of running an empire. Lu Jia gave Liu Bang private lectures on politics, history, and culture. Other ministers also gave Liu Bang private lectures on similar subjects. Lu Jias lectures were later collected as a book and published.

Liu Bang had his own judgment to avoid bad advice. Chen Ping is a case in this point. General Zhou Bo and General Guan Ying complained to Liu Bang about Chen Ping: “Chen Ping is just a nice-looking but good-for-nothing man. We hear that he had an affair with his brothers wife. He first worked for the King of the Wei and then he defected to Xiang Yu and now he is here to work for us. He is a man of no loyalty. We hear that he receives bribes from officers. He assigns military tasks according to the size of bribes. Whats the good of such a man?”

Liu Bang accused Wei Wuji of recommending a useless man to him. Wei Wuji replied, “I recommended him because of his talent. Honest and pious men are useless for our military activities. Can you use them now? I recommended men who can give you winning advice. My focus is on military success. Whats the said affair to you? It is not the right reason to question his capability.”

Liu Bang then had a talk with Chen Ping, saying that Chen did look suspicious because he had worked for the King of the Wei kingdom and Xiang Yu, the archrival of Liu Bang. Chen Ping admitted that he had worked for two employers before he came over to Liu Bang and that he left the two previous employers because they ignored his advice. He came to Liu Bang because he learned that Liu would trust and employ capable people. He had to receive bribes because he lost everything when he came over. He went on to say, “If you think my advice is good, you can take it. If you think I am not good enough, I can return the gold Ive received.” Liu trusted Chen Ping and promoted him. Chen Ping helped Liu Bang to set up the empire. Chen Ping later became prime minister and helped drive out the usurping queen and her relatives and get Liu Bangs son to be emperor again. □