What to Do When Facing Difficulties? Dongfang Shuo's Approach Is a Perfect Problem-Solving Template

If we're talking about the "King of Memes" in the officialdom of the Western Han Dynasty, if Dongfang Shuo claimed second place, no one would dare to take first. This man was not only a smooth talker but also had a mind more convoluted than a nine-ring puzzle. Every time he encountered a tricky situation, he could come up with an unexpectedly perfect answer.

Not long after he started his career, Dongfang Shuo hit his first workplace hurdle: he wrote a letter of introduction to Emperor Wu of Han on three thousand bamboo slips. The emperor read it, found the man somewhat interesting, but then forgot about him. He only arranged for Dongfang Shuo to stay in the Office of the Imperial Chariot, with a meager salary so poor that he could barely afford to eat. Anyone else might have crouched in a corner feeling depressed, but not Dongfang Shuo. With a roll of his eyes, an idea came to him.

He found the group of dwarves in the palace and deliberately frightened them: "You people have no strength for farming, no ability for official positions, and no courage to join the army. The emperor says keeping you around is a pure waste of food, and he plans to have you all executed!" The dwarves were terrified out of their wits, crying and screaming to beg Emperor Wu for mercy. When Emperor Wu heard this, he was baffled by the nonsense and immediately summoned Dongfang Shuo for questioning.

Anyone else would have gone weak in the knees by then— the crime of deceiving the emperor was no laughing matter. But Dongfang Shuo remained calm, knelt on the ground, and launched into a stand-up monologue: "Your subject Shuo will speak whether he lives or dies. Dwarves are just over three feet tall, with a salary of one sack of millet and 240 coins. Your subject Shuo is over nine feet tall, and also gets one sack of millet and 240 coins. The dwarves are so full they could die; your subject Shuo is so hungry he could die." The meaning was clear: Your Majesty, your salary system is unreasonable. Dwarves are three feet tall, I'm nine feet tall, yet we get the same pay. They're stuffed, while I'm starving. If you don't want to put me in an important position, just let me go home. Don't make me mooch off food here.

Emperor Wu laughed so hard he slapped his thigh. Not only did he not punish Dongfang Shuo, but he also promoted him and kept him by his side as a Waiting Edict at the Golden Horse Gate. You see, what do you do when you encounter difficulties? While others worry themselves bald, he took the initiative to create opportunities, turning himself from a "forgotten nobody" directly into a "favorite by the emperor's side."

Another time, Emperor Wu rewarded his attendants with a pile of meat. According to the rules, they had to wait for the supervising official to announce the imperial edict before dividing it. But that day, they waited and waited, but the supervisor never showed up. The sun was almost setting, and the meat was about to go bad. Dongfang Shuo directly drew his sword, swished it to cut off the fattest piece, tucked it into his clothes, and left. Before leaving, he even greeted his colleagues: "It's too hot today, I'm heading out first!"

The next day, Emperor Wu found out about it, called him over for a reprimand, and ordered him to make a self-criticism in public. Dongfang Shuo quickly took off his hat, knelt down, and blurted out: "Dongfang Shuo, oh Dongfang Shuo! You accepted a reward without waiting for the edict— how rude! You drew your sword to cut the meat— how bold! You didn't cut much— how honest! You took it home to your wife— how kind!"

This move completely threw Emperor Wu off balance. He laughed and scolded him: "I told you to blame yourself, but instead you're praising yourself!" Well, he rewarded him with one dan of wine and a hundred jin of meat, telling him to take it home to his wife. Where do you even go to reason about that?

In fact, many people always wonder what to do when faced with choices and how to deal with difficult problems. These two stories about Dongfang Shuo illustrate the point well: when you're in a predicament, don't bang your head against the wall. Change your way of thinking, and you might just turn a dead end into a winning situation. This man never held a high official position in his life, but with his clever tongue and a belly full of tricky ideas, he thrived by Emperor Wu of Han's side. Even Sima Qian, when writing the *Records of the Grand Historian*, specially included him in the *Biographies of Jesters*, which counts as leaving a name in history.