🏮The Russian Trade Mission in China presents a new section “Notes on Chinese business culture”
In the interiors of Chinese offices and commercial enterprises, an image of a bearded man with a red face is often found. This is Guan Yu (Guan Gong, Guan Di) - the famous commander of the Three Kingdoms era. Despite his military background, he is revered, among other things, as the patron of entrepreneurship and trade.
📚Let’s figure out how this happened:
1. Ethical principle “I” (fidelity and justice). Reputation is the foundation of business relationships in China. Guan Yu personifies the Confucian virtue "Yi" - absolute loyalty to duty and honesty. Having his statue in the office serves as a nonverbal declaration of trustworthiness.
2. Protection from “evil spirits”. The status of the god of war in a commercial context was transformed into a function of protecting the enterprise. The image of the general is intended to protect business from financial risks, bankruptcy, unfair competition and illegal attacks.
3. Founder of financial accounting. According to legend, Guan Yu is considered the inventor of the double entry or strict reporting system. Upon leaving the service of the military leader Cao Cao, he returned all the gifts he had received, attaching to them an impeccable register of “income and expenses.”
4. Community consolidation. Guan Yu symbolizes brotherhood and mutual support. Historically, his cult helped unite merchants into trade guilds and communities, strengthening corporate ties far from home.
Thus, the figure of Guan Yu in a modern Chinese company is not just a tribute to folklore tradition or an element of superstition, but an important cultural marker demonstrating the entrepreneur’s commitment to a specific “code of honor.”
#China #Trade Representation #notes
--- Source: [Russia–China Trade](https://t.me/russchinatrade/1150) · Telegram