Balances in Law Enforcement Series IV -
Bring Comfort and Wisdom to Others
Chinese history is a wealth of wisdom and experiences
For Chief Superintendent Tsang Choi-on of Personnel Wing, books of Chinese culture and history are his "asset", and his study is stacked up with some 2,000 copies of both old and contemporary history.
He has purchased the books - 90 per cent from the Mainland and the remainder from Taiwan - to satisfy his thirst for knowledge of China's 5,000-year history.
Mr Tsang's interest in Chinese culture and history started as a student's extra-curriculum pastime, but eventually developed into a lifelong quest for the knowledge, intricacy and fascination of China's past.
As early as a primary student, Mr Tsang already took a great interest in the household legends of a Chinese Buddhist monk's pilgrimage to Buddha's birthplace in India (Journey to the West); the exploits of a group of patriots who took to the mountains to escape persecutions by tyrants (Heroes of the Marshes); and the diplomacy and rivalries among the well-known "Three Kingdoms" before B.C.
Even being exposed to western culture and living in an alien surrounding when he studied in university in the UK in the 1970's, Mr Tsang was as interested in Chinese culture and history as ever. And there were reasons for that.
During an interview with the Psychological Services Group, Mr Tsang explained that as he was born into a poor family, he had to take on part-time jobs to support his tertiary education. In times of difficulty, what he read from history books seemed to have provided him with motivation. He was also inspired by accounts of Chinese struggling overseas, including former leader Deng Xiao-ping, who studied and worked in the former Soviet Union.
Mr Tsang returned to Hong Kong with a BA degree in late 1978. After joining the Force as a Probationary Inspector the following year, he came to realise that Chinese history had much more to offer. For him, Chinese history is a wealth of wisdom, valuable experiences and inspirations.
He explained: "History often repeats itself, and from this phenomenon we can see that things are governed by sets of rules, theories and principles. We can also see from history how the people before us applied these in different situations and for different purposes, and how successful they were. History also tells us the outcome, conclusions and implications of the applications.
"So we can benefit from ancestors' ways of doing things, their success and failure, as well as conclusions and experiences. These are valuable lessons that can help one predict and anticipate the way forward, and make plans that are practical and workable in achieving the goals of life."
Mr Tsang sees the benefits of history knowledge as "wide-embracing". He explained: "You can apply it with good results in workplace, family education and daily life. In particular it is useful for staff management, inter-personal relationship and planning."
No wonder Mr Tsang would try to apply, in different situations, his history knowledge at work in order to get his jobs done. As a young officer in commander of some 90 officers, he first did this in Ta Kwu Ling Police Station and found it worked well for staff supervision and motivation.
As his responsibilities and workload became heavier, Mr Tsang had more opportunities to put his history knowledge to the test. The outcome was equally satisfactory.
Citing an example, Mr Tsang recalled that when he worked in anti-illegal entry intelligence unit in CID in 1980, he had a woman police constable who repeatedly disobeyed orders. After analysing the problem with his history wisdom, he came to realise that it was more than a discipline problem and involved staff management and co-operation as well. Teamwork and staff morale would be affected if he did not handle the problem properly.
Again by using the skills he had learned from history, Mr Tsang eventually not only resolved the discipline problem, but also secured the support and co-operation of his staff for the action he took. As a result, his team became more pro-active and achieved satisfactory results, earning for Mr Tsang a Commanding Officer's Commendation.
Mr Tsang pointed out that the same approach also worked well for his jobs involving outsiders, such as officials from the Mainland and Macao.
Mr Tsang's passion for Chinese history has never abated because of age. On the contrary, his interest is now focused on books of more profound subjects, such as a detailed record of the conversations and episodes involving emperors and their ministers (History as a Mirror), the ideologies of ancient philosophers (Han Fei Tzu and Gui Gu Tzu) and ancient Chinese military strategies (The Art of War).
For many years, he has been sharing his history knowledge with fellow officers outside office hours. He started doing this when he was DDC BORDIST in 1989 by running talks in the Mess on an ad hoc basis. Two years later he joined the Police Chinese Culture Club to form a study group on Chinese history.
In 2003, he helped set up the Police History Club, which now has over 400 members and runs talks on both Chinese and western histories, as well as related activities.
As more and more Force members are interested in Chinese culture and history after the Handover, Mr Tsang is devoting more of his spare time to promoting history knowledge. Apart from talks, he has also led Police History Club members to visit historical relics on the Mainland to reminisce about the past.
Mr Tsang is pleased that his talks would indirectly make a small contribution to the Force if they could enhance officers' capabilities for handling staff management and conducting businesses.
Winding up the interview, Mr Tsang stressed that knowing their country's history is a cornerstone of life for every Chinese, but in the context of globalisation, one has to cast one's eyes on the World.
Comments by Psychological Services Group (PSG)
"Helping others is one of the most important virtues of living. It brings meaningfulness to life and adds to our feelings of satisfaction and fulfilment.
Helping can take different forms. It may mean delivery of care and support. It may also refer to gathering of knowledge and wisdom from different facets of life, and disseminating such knowledge and wisdom to others. These forms of helping are not just restricted to Police work.
In this new series titled "Balances in Law Enforcement - IV - Bring Care and Wisdom to Others", we have invited several outstanding Force members to talk about their years of experience of delivering care and wisdom.
The PSG sincerely recommends this new series to all Force members.
Mr Tsang's enthusiasm about Chinese literature and history is a live demonstration of what Positive Psychology in the contemporary terms as "vital engagement". By committing to an enduring activity, one not just can attain a better knowledge or skills in a specific area but can also derive a more meaningful life and satisfaction as a whole. It has been evidenced in different psychological researches that those people who have a devoted engagement are happier and of higher functioning, and can cope with challenges better.
More importantly, Mr Tsang did not stop at the "knowledge" level, but proceeded to successful applications of this knowledge to work, family as well as inter-personal relationships. His creative application of what he had crystallised in Chinese history in different aspects of life has just proven that learning is best made lively. Apart from his continuous learning from books or other sources, Mr Tsang's high awareness and sensitivity to what is happening in the immediate environment is fundamental to his success. Once you can successfully apply what you have learned in your life, you would be further motivated to continue the pursuit. Sharing with friends or persons who have similar interests is another effective way to maintain our interest and motivation in learning.
From Mr Tsang's example, we can see that knowledge of many different subjects could become precious life wisdom. We can be our best mentor if we can commit ourselves to a particular subject, and learn from experiences. Life would then be more interesting!
Seek advice and help from the Psychological Services Group: 2866-6206 (5th floor, 111 Leighton Road, Causeway Bay). psg@police.gov.hk
(All cases will be kept in strict confidence.)
Mr Tsang is pleased that more and more Force members are enthusiastic about Chinese history