The method of examining and appreciating people was prosperous from the Later
Han Dynasty to the Three Kingdoms period. The Research of Human Capacity by
Liu Shao is the most important publication regarding this method. This study will
begin with the examination of theory of The Research of Human Capacity. Next,
the result of the previous examination will be applied to the analysis of characters
in Records of the Three Kingdoms. With two-fold examinations, this study aims at
further understanding and extension of theory of The Research of Human
Capacity.
After the examination of three types of human capacity, which is listed in the
Liu-ye part of The Research of Human Capacity (《人物志˙流業》), this study has
discovered that its structure of political human capacity based on the political
study of the Daoism (Huang Lao Daoja). Comparing the preface of The Research of
Human Capacity with the political ideas of Cao Pei and Cao Rui, this study
discovers that the motive for Liu Shao to write The Research of Human Capacity is
to obey the instruction given by Cao Pei. The book was completed about the time
when Cao Pei obtained the reign from the Later Han Dynasty. The book was used
as an important reference to adjustments of duties of the officials during the
takeover. This discovery will not only offer more details of the process of Cao Pei
gained the reign for academic researchers, but also offer accurate interpretations
of The Research of Human Capacity.
This study will apply qualitative research method to analyze the theory and
characters. Based on the theory of heroes (yingxiong) listed in The Research of
Human Capacity, the performances of Cao Cao, Liu Bei and Sun Quan in terms of
wisdom and bravery would vary. Without doubt, Cao Cao was the best among the
three. However, his intention of taking the throne was obvious, which indicates
that wisdom and bravery were insufficient criteria to judge leadership. Apart from
this, there are eight types of human capacity of government affairs listed in the
Liu-ye part, which will be adopted to select top three representatives respectively
from Records of the Three Kingdoms. Next, these representatives will be examined
by qualities of yingyang and Five Phases (wuxing) included within The Research of
Human Capacity. Then, this study concludes common characters of each type of
human capacity. The analysis will prove the arrangement of capacity and
performances of duties discussed in The Research of Human Capacity are
homogeneity, which would be the reference to choose proper human capacity and
assign duties. The analysis also discovers that the aforementioned principle does
not apply to the human capacity who obtains two kinds of talent (jiancai). The
concept of Five Phases which their order and presentation are both mutual
generation (xiangsheng) and mutual overcoming (xiangke) would be the reference
to qualities and performances of characters. This discovery links to the chapter of
Gangrou (literally: hard, soft) in the Bingjian (literally: "the ice-like mirror
which can reflect people’s characters clearly") to prove that judging human
capacity by yingyang and Five Phases has been used for a long time.
The Research of Human Capacity integrates capacity, duties and judgements into
one book. It is well organized and the author was able to discuss topics thoroughly.
However, its ideas regarding types of human capacity and arrangements of duties
might be disconnected. Nowadays, international situations and environments for
management are getting more diversified and more complicated, which makes its
theory of human capacity is insufficient. Administrative departments of
institutions should make policies of human capacity prudently according to their
own needs for future developments. The Research of Human Capacity defines and
categorizes human capacity and duties in order to allow human capacity fit into
the proper positions and the duties, which makes it still a useful reference book.