Sunday

Good oil, bad oil

The traditional Chinese attitude can best be summarised by the old story about selling oil:

 The oil seller sold the good oil to the regular, loyal customers who treated the oil seller well.
 The bad oil was given to everybody else.


 We do not apply this maxim literally, because we seek to ensure that everyone makes progress.
 However, students with a bad attitude - irregular, rude or needy - do receive less attention than other students.

 A Chinese teacher will give the best instruction to members of their own family, then to lineage students, then to regular students, and so on...
 People who attend public workshops and infrequent lessons simply get the leftovers.

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