“Leeway” refers to room for maneuver in speech or action, implying that people should reserve opportunities to retreat or make new choices. Lao Zi(circa 600-500 B.C.), a philosopher of the late Spring and Autumn Period, once said a person should not be arrogant or overbearing, but be prudent in words and actions and treat others modestly.

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Chinese people often like to hold back a trick or two in speech or action. A person should shun the use of abusive language to hurt people in an argument; one should not always speak his mind freely in a conversation; a superior will sometimes find it necessary to explain away the shortcomings of an employee, rather than bring them up in public to the latter’s embarrassment; and a person must refrain from vigorously pursuing someone whom he is not on good terms with after discovering the latter’s faults. Not to push a matter too far keeps open the possibility of handling it in the future.