In our less confident times, a new ruler could find lots of literature
on just this subject, and one best-seller has become so famous that its
title has entered the language: 'How to Win Friends and Influence
People' has sold over 15 million copies, telling us all how to do
exactly what it says on the cover. But, strangely, nowhere in that book
does it mention one very obvious strategy that the power-brokers in
Imperial China of two thousand years ago knew very well, and practised
brilliantly: don't just 'say' encouraging things; 'give' your target a
hugely extravagant present.
...The Chinese still know that the best gifts are always the ones that only
the giver can command. In the time of the Han Dynasty, that was silk
and lacquer cups. Today, when China wants to establish friendly
relations, it still gives the present that nobody else can match - it's
known as Panda Diplomacy.
Source: BBC A History of the World in 100 Objects
