Weakest link.

The Chinese empire under the ‘Qin’ dynasty represents one of the world’s most powerful nations in the world during its time. At times I wonder if the Roman Empire, at the hike of its glorious achievement could ever hold up to the Chinese golden age. The Great Wall of China remains one of the human greatest achievements, spanning over 6 thousand kilometers and remains the only man made structure visible from space. The Great Wall was built for one sole purpose, to prevent the northern tribes, better known to by the Chinese Hans as barbarians of north from attacking and invading the Chinese land. For hundreds of years, the Great Wall has proven to be an impenetrable fortress, shielding its Chinese Han population from the foreign invaders. For those who are into Chinese history, the Manchurian force, subsequently better known as the ‘Qing’ dynasty in time to come finally succeeded in defeating and conquering the mainland thus putting an end to the Ming dynasty. One particular event seals the fate of the Ming Empire. All it took was one man, a Ming General to order the opening of the gates at Shanghai Pass to let the Manchu army enter. The history of the final moments leading to the downfall of the Ming Empire reminds me of an old Chinese saying:

‘Never be afraid of a thousand events, always be alert though and watchful of one particular event.’

The Manchu army probably had mounted several if not more attacks and failed in their advances due to the Great Wall. The Chinese, with regards to the Ming army defenders thought that the Great Wall is all that is needed and all it takes to prevent the Manchu from succeeding in their quest to enter mainland. Little did the ignorant Chinese Han realize that the Great Wall is only as secure and strong at its weakest link, the gates of the Great Wall it seems. If only if the Ming emperor and its government realize the importance of the gates at Shanghai Pass and send more troops to protect the gates from being opened, it would’ve probably taken the Manchu army many more months or perhaps even years to conquer the land.

We should always be cautious and be watchful of events, in particular events that may affect and impact our daily life. We need not be undue worry or afraid though.

Many a times, we cannot predict or control events as many situations are beyond our control. We can however take steps to reduce unnecessary impact to our daily life due to events by making appropriate plans and acting on it as events takes place.
We don’t need to resign our life to fate. We are the masters of our own destiny, by that I mean taking hold and control of our life, be responsible for our own actions and knowing that what we do today determine tomorrow outcome.

On a footnote, I have been rather busy lately. Apart from having to worry about software deliverable timeline, I have to work as mediator to resolve squabbles within my team. I believed I did a great job in diffusing the situation though. I am almost done with reading the book Rule#1, authored by Phil Town. It is one of the best books I’ve read to date. This is a must read book for individual investors, in particular for newbie like me.