The Art of Deception and Adrian's Tale Chapter 18

Mason Liao was determined in his work and didn't care about praise or criticism. In the eighth year of the Republic of China, he was the head of the Education Section of the Governor's Office. At that time, the power to appoint and dismiss principals and county inspectors (county inspectors were later directors of the Education Bureau) was in the hands of the Education Section. Governor Yang relied heavily on Mason Liao, and all the appointments and dismissals submitted by Mason Liao were approved. Sometimes the governor issued a note to appoint or dismiss someone, and Mason Liao returned the original note if he thought it was inappropriate. Governor Yang didn't take it as an offense, but trusted him more firmly. The most amazing thing was that when I was the deputy section chief, everyone who got benefits praised me and said, "This is the gift of the great sage Liao." If someone failed, was punished, had his requests rejected, or had his budget reduced, they would often say to others, "This was done by Li Houhei." It became a situation where "the good things are attributed to Mason Liao, and the bad things are attributed to Adrian Li." Although Mason Liao is dead now, my former colleagues in the Education Department, such as Hou Keming and Huang Zhiting, are still alive. I would like to ask them to tell me whether I did these things or not. Can Mason Liao be controlled by others when doing things? I am not saying this today to shift the blame to my dead friend, but to cite the facts I have experienced to prove that Jian Heng's words are natural and reasonable. The three words "thick black" should never be spoken. I love my readers, so I dare to tell you with all my heart.

Isn't it possible that Mason Liao is shirking the responsibility of offending others to me? That's not the case. When someone mentioned me to him, Mason Liao said, "I did something, someone blamed Adrian Li, you can call someone here, I will tell him face to face, Adrian Li has nothing to do with it." But the more Mason Liao explained, the more people said that Mason Liao was a saint. He had to take the blame for what Adrian Li did. How could he not be a saint? Adrian Li could make Mason Liao do this, how could he not be thick-skinned? Lei Minxin said, "Thick-skinned people can do things but cannot be talked about." What a famous saying! Later, I also earned the title of saint, but the word thick-skinned was added to the saint.

A saint is a thick-skinned person, two in one, one in two. Zhuangzi said: "The saint is not dead, the thief is not dead." Zhuangzi saw the truth of the saint and the thief clearly. Zhi's disciples asked Zhi: "Is there a way to steal?" Zhi said: "Why not? The man who hides in the pass is a saint. Entering first is brave, leaving later is righteousness, knowing the time is wisdom, and sharing equally is benevolence. If you don't understand these five, you can become a thief. There is no one in the world who can become a thief." Sainthood, bravery, righteousness, wisdom and benevolence are the five qualities of saints. Zhi can steal and use them, and he becomes a thief. On the other hand, thick-skinned people are the qualities of great treacherous people. If people can use them well, they can become great saints and sages. For example, Hu Linyi once said: "As long as it is beneficial to the public, I will do it even if it is stupid and shameless." He also said: "I must take charge of everything when doing things." The so-called stupidity and shamelessness, taking charge of everything, aren't they the techniques used by the thick black school? Linyi was able to make good use of them and became a famous official.

Wang Jianheng and Mason Liao are both people I admire very much. Mason Liao ran the provincial middle school and served as a member of the provincial parliament. He only knew the words of serving the public and could endure any humiliation, a bit like Hu Linyi's stubbornness and shamelessness. Jianheng was arbitrary in doing things, a bit like Hu Linyi's monopoly. One day I said to them in front of them: "Mason Liao has obtained the secret of thick characters, and Jianhuan has obtained the secret of black characters. They can be called the strong ones of our party." I cited the events to prove it. The two of them said happily: "According to this, we can each be said to have obtained a part of the saint." I said: "A hundred years later, someone will build a thick and black temple for me, and you two will have the hope of being worthy of it."

In the first year of the Republic of China, I was writing "The Art of Thick Black" in the Chengdu Public Opinion Daily. One day, Mason Liao came to my room and saw a passage written on the desk: "During the Chu-Han period, there was a man who was thick but not black, and eventually ended up in the hands of the defeated. That person was Han Xin. Xin could endure the humiliation under the crotch, and his thick face could be said to be the most thick. When he became the King of Qi, he indeed followed the advice of Kuai Tong, whose value was beyond words. However, he could not help but rashly said, "He who wears other people's clothes bears other people's worries, and he who eats other people's food kills other people." Finally, he was sent to the bell room of Changle, his body and head were separated, and his three clans were exterminated. How could he say that it was not his own fault! During the Chu-Han period, there was a man who was black but not thick, and eventually ended up in the hands of the defeated. That person was Fan Zeng..." Mason Liao read my manuscript once, then turned to read this passage about Han Xin over and over again. He said nothing, sighed deeply, and left. I thought to myself, "This is strange. Han Xin is thick but not black, while Fan Zeng is black but not thick. I originally compared the two. Why does he only fit Han Xin's paragraph?" I thought about it carefully and realized that Xu Chu was the one who was thick but not black. He was a great scholar. He could endure anger, but he could not do cruel things. People with colds feel comfortable drinking boiling water; people with fevers feel comfortable drinking cold water. What Xu Chu lacked was a black word. Han Xin's paragraph was his remedy, so he was deeply touched unconsciously.