Following the Predecessor's Ways
Updated 2026-08-22
INTRODUCTION
English translation pending.
CORE DEFINITION
At the start of the Han dynasty Xiao He fixed the laws and institutions, and his successor Cao Shen, judging himself Xiao's inferior and the system already settled, changed nothing. Applied to a new leader inheriting a working team or legacy code, its claim is that the worst move is reform for reform's sake; when the old system runs well, the best strategy is to follow it.
SCAFFOLDING EFFECT
Reduce cognitive load
- Inheritance audit: study the existing rules fully before changing a single one. - Change threshold: alter only what is demonstrably broken and leave the rest. - Anti-vanity: resist the new-broom impulse to make a mark by overturning what works.
Anchor fast decisions
A working institution holds tacit knowledge that a newcomer cannot see, so unnecessary change destroys value that was never understood. Continuity preserves that capital, and the restraint costs nothing while the system keeps producing.
MINIMUM ACTION
In progress 0/1Practice this model in one real situation:
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Source support: Explicit
- zh.wikipedia.orghttps://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%8F%B2%E8%AE%B0verified
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