The leather-bound book "The Art of managing the World. Li Go. The art of ruling" in a box

China's rulers disliked Li Gou, who was not shy about criticizing their actions. However, they couldn't do without his advice. The thinker created and put into practice a unified management doctrine: in the treatises "The Plan for Enriching the state," "The Plan for Strengthening the Army," and "The Plan for Reassuring the People," Li Gou summarized and formulated criteria for recruiting managers, developed the doctrine of "jing ji" ("economics"), which he understood as the doctrine of "managing the world and helping the people."

The most scant information has been preserved about the life of the Chinese sage. Li Gou was born in the south of Jiangxi Province into an impoverished, unrelated family and proudly called himself a "commoner from Nancheng." All his works were marked by continuity with the cultural tradition of the past and at the same time devoted to topical issues that occupied the minds of his educated contemporaries.

Li Gou left a deep mark on the reform movement. His ideas were summarized in an examination essay written in 1039, which was traditionally a Confucian scholar's guide to government. Li Gou presented the monarch with a concrete action plan based on the understanding of the wisdom of the ancients, and above all their institutions, imprinted in the ancient canons. The scientist developed a coherent system of ancient views on the unity of the administrative functions of the state, which was responsible for regulating all spheres of society.