The Study of Human Abilities

How can you tell what a man is good for? Liu Shao, an official of the Wei kingdom in the Three Kingdoms period, wrote the first Chinese treatise on judging character and talent. The Study of Human Abilities explains how temperament, the five phases and the balance of yin and yang appear in a person's bearing, voice and face; distinguishes twelve kinds of talent, from the moralist to the strategist and the orator; and warns of the errors every judge of men falls into. Practical, subtle and surprisingly modern, it was written for rulers choosing officials but reads as a study of personality. This complete new English translation gives all twelve chapters, with the early commentary. Names are given in modern pinyin and key terms are rendered plainly rather than buried in jargon, so the arguments, stories and debates can be read straight through by anyone curious about Chinese thought.