THE PERSUASION OF KUEI KU TZU (CHINA)

Kuei Ku Tzu is an ancient Chinese book on persuasion.;In Kuei Ku Tzu, the most important foundation of persuasion is ch'ing--the information of the self, of the people involved and the situation in which the persuasion takes place. One should use all possible means to gain the proper ch'ing.;Of the ten methods, six are related to the gathering of ch'ing. They form a sort of progressive sequence. From the most basic functions of speech/silence, action/non-action (pai-ho--opening up and closing down), knowing oneself and the past events (fan-ying--reflection and responses), one proceeds to figure out (ch'uai) things beyond oneself and the past, to know other people and other relevant information. Once the information is at hand, one uses stroking (mo) to make sure. Then, one can weigh and evaluate (ch'uan--weighing) this information to use it in the planning (mou) of a strategy of persuasion.;Then, four specific methods are provided for more specific purposes: nei-chien--the internal bonds through which persuasion works, ti-hsi--dealing with fissures, i.e., the less than perfect situations, fei-ch'ien--making fly and manacling, which deals with attracting talent, and wu-ho--disagreeing and agreeing, which helps deciding whom to turn to and whom to turn against.;This thesis provides background information of the book, an English translation and in-depth discussion of the text.;Finally, there is a brief instruction on decision making.