Xi Jinping: "Gu Junshan was never interested in studying political theory; instead, he loved reading books about secrets of officialdom and the 'Thick Black Theory,' treating becoming a high-ranking official and amassing wealth as his life’s creed."
What is Thick Black Theory?
Nov 6, 2025 · 9:18 PM UTC
Gu Junshan, then Deputy Director of the General Logistics Department, was one senior most PLA officials brought down in Xi's initial corruption campaign. In a speech made to the CMC in 2014, Xi noted General Gu's admiration for reading books on the "Thick Black Theory" (厚黑学).
What is the "Thick Black Theory"? It derives from a series of writings by a man known as Li Zongwu, who in the early decades of the Republic of China era developed a theory that the successful officials need to possess both a "thick face" and "black heart" in their demeanor.
Li derived his theory from his own reading of history, in which powerful heroes did not achieve success by following the tenets of Confucius, but instead by leveraging the advantages gained through possessing a "thick face and black heart" (i.e. shamelessness and ruthlessness)
