I always wondered how politian learn politics? Politics is ideally a good word which means it is all about implementing your or your party policies and thats it. But in today's case it is all about ruling.
This book is ideally for those who want to learn about ruling by hook or crook something like dictator. But this is not only limited to politics but it is also about how to excel in your field say what to do if you want to be great manager or CEO or at any responsible book.
I loved this book. We always wonder how high level people live their life or how do they do politics and how they ensure if someone is fired from the party it doesn't create a problem to anyone.
I will give glimpse of the book. Dr. Li was working in Australia and later decided to move to China which was getting ruled under Mao. He was working under his boss Wang. Wang recommended him as personal physical to Mao Zedong.
Apart from political stuff I learnt a lot about life. I am going to discuss about my learning from the book.
Dr. Li was working and doing well in Australia as doctor. He heard from news paper Mao is ruling the China and China was under communist rule. Li was married and he was skeptical about situation in China and still he believed that China is good under Mao. Rather than doing more investigation he believed one of the people there in China and moved. That brings disaster for himself. Entire book he is living a scary life. Every word he has to be very careful and very worried. Even he did everything right but still he had been sent for hard labour. He was forced to speak every single event of his life to Mao. He was scared for his wife and kids all the time including his own life. His decision without proper thought he brought into problem everyone in the family including his mother, wife and kids.
Dr. Li became Mao's personal physician and then his role was to travel with him. In general, Mao use to get Cough and Fever. To solve these problem he worked really hard on these diseases. He always wanted to be a neurosurgeon but since he stuck in China and specially as Mao's personal physician he had no more choices so he started giving his full attention to his work. Due to giving his best, Mao was very much relying on him. That is the reason during his service to Mao for 22years, he was sent to Hard labour and countryside for social work and living with peasants as punishment was removed and called back to service. Mao only trusted him for his diseases and he was always doing his best in his job.
Not only that,, when Mao's wife was behind him for assassination, he stayed with Factory employee and during that time he look after those peasant and they saved his life in return. It means his work pay him back in large. Due to his best work, Mao had to change his order and finally saved his family in many stances.
During one instance Dr. Li's wife had to go country side for social work, Dr Li can't take care of his sons since he had to give service to Mao as well. Dr Li talked to his boss Wang, and say what kind of master I have who is not concerned about my family despite I am giving my day and night for my boss and Finally Wang talked and called her wife back immediately. Since he was trust worthy, His boss Wang and Mao both saved him many times.
Mao had insomnia and also he can't be make a woman pregnant and these secret are with Mao. Mao was worried about these secrets to be known to other fellow partymen since he had sexual relations with huge number of young woman in China. That is the reason Mao never changed his doctor. Dr. Li never shared these thing with anyone in party or outside party.
There were several occasion in Dr. Li career while serving Mao as personal physician, when he had to take stand for his conscious mind. He was under tremendous pressure to bend for other political power in CPC(Communist Party of China) but he stand by his knowledge. In fact on medicine related question he countered Mao too which was very rude but correct according to him. Many political power in the Party called him arrogant. But due to his way to defending his opinion, Mao trusted him a lot and for any medicine related query, Mao always take his opinion as final opinion.
This trust in Dr. Li, Mao was forced to bring him back from any kind of hard labour or serving country side. In fact due to Mao trust in him, his enemies were curbed by Mao.
On several occasion Mao was under pressure from his party men something like Great leap forward and cultural revolution. He wanted to fire his enemies from party and punish them hard. It was not easy for him directly. He used to dismiss them indirectly. To learn how to punish his enemy, he was not reading books on humanity and other. He wanted to be dictator and to remove his enemies he used to read book on Dynasty. He wanted to understand how dynasties rule china for 200 or 500 years. He was reading books of whom he was most critic in public.
The same way when we want to be manager we have to enhance our managerial skills. We should know how to gather control over our companies. How to push our ideas into our companies.How to fire non-performing or non-aligned employee.
This book is ideally for those who want to learn about ruling by hook or crook something like dictator. But this is not only limited to politics but it is also about how to excel in your field say what to do if you want to be great manager or CEO or at any responsible book.
I loved this book. We always wonder how high level people live their life or how do they do politics and how they ensure if someone is fired from the party it doesn't create a problem to anyone.
I will give glimpse of the book. Dr. Li was working in Australia and later decided to move to China which was getting ruled under Mao. He was working under his boss Wang. Wang recommended him as personal physical to Mao Zedong.
Apart from political stuff I learnt a lot about life. I am going to discuss about my learning from the book.
1. Neverever make decision in haste when you are going to take big risky decision.
Dr. Li was working and doing well in Australia as doctor. He heard from news paper Mao is ruling the China and China was under communist rule. Li was married and he was skeptical about situation in China and still he believed that China is good under Mao. Rather than doing more investigation he believed one of the people there in China and moved. That brings disaster for himself. Entire book he is living a scary life. Every word he has to be very careful and very worried. Even he did everything right but still he had been sent for hard labour. He was forced to speak every single event of his life to Mao. He was scared for his wife and kids all the time including his own life. His decision without proper thought he brought into problem everyone in the family including his mother, wife and kids.
2. You may or may not get your dream BUT you can always do your best. Your BEST will always bring you out of problem in your life
Dr. Li became Mao's personal physician and then his role was to travel with him. In general, Mao use to get Cough and Fever. To solve these problem he worked really hard on these diseases. He always wanted to be a neurosurgeon but since he stuck in China and specially as Mao's personal physician he had no more choices so he started giving his full attention to his work. Due to giving his best, Mao was very much relying on him. That is the reason during his service to Mao for 22years, he was sent to Hard labour and countryside for social work and living with peasants as punishment was removed and called back to service. Mao only trusted him for his diseases and he was always doing his best in his job.
Not only that,, when Mao's wife was behind him for assassination, he stayed with Factory employee and during that time he look after those peasant and they saved his life in return. It means his work pay him back in large. Due to his best work, Mao had to change his order and finally saved his family in many stances.
3. Be trustworthy and have integrity
Dr Li was very much confidant of Mao hence Mao use to reveal many his next political steps to him. Since he has integrity and he was not revealing anything to anyone other than his boss to whom he must have to share info.During one instance Dr. Li's wife had to go country side for social work, Dr Li can't take care of his sons since he had to give service to Mao as well. Dr Li talked to his boss Wang, and say what kind of master I have who is not concerned about my family despite I am giving my day and night for my boss and Finally Wang talked and called her wife back immediately. Since he was trust worthy, His boss Wang and Mao both saved him many times.
Mao had insomnia and also he can't be make a woman pregnant and these secret are with Mao. Mao was worried about these secrets to be known to other fellow partymen since he had sexual relations with huge number of young woman in China. That is the reason Mao never changed his doctor. Dr. Li never shared these thing with anyone in party or outside party.
4. Family is the most important thing
Love your family and do what you can do. Dr. Li suffered a lot during cultural revolution. His wife told him not to come to home. And also don't do suicide since it may bring more problem to family. Mao's wife was behind Dr. Li to brand him as traitor and arrest him. Dr. Li ensures he doesn't go to home as he may get arrested there and brand him as traitor. He fought with official to protect his family to his best. That is the love I am impressed with.
5. Whatever situation stand by your opinion if you fully convinced with it
There were several occasion in Dr. Li career while serving Mao as personal physician, when he had to take stand for his conscious mind. He was under tremendous pressure to bend for other political power in CPC(Communist Party of China) but he stand by his knowledge. In fact on medicine related question he countered Mao too which was very rude but correct according to him. Many political power in the Party called him arrogant. But due to his way to defending his opinion, Mao trusted him a lot and for any medicine related query, Mao always take his opinion as final opinion.This trust in Dr. Li, Mao was forced to bring him back from any kind of hard labour or serving country side. In fact due to Mao trust in him, his enemies were curbed by Mao.
6. Primarily enhance your skills according to your role not knowledge
On several occasion Mao was under pressure from his party men something like Great leap forward and cultural revolution. He wanted to fire his enemies from party and punish them hard. It was not easy for him directly. He used to dismiss them indirectly. To learn how to punish his enemy, he was not reading books on humanity and other. He wanted to be dictator and to remove his enemies he used to read book on Dynasty. He wanted to understand how dynasties rule china for 200 or 500 years. He was reading books of whom he was most critic in public.
The same way when we want to be manager we have to enhance our managerial skills. We should know how to gather control over our companies. How to push our ideas into our companies.How to fire non-performing or non-aligned employee.
