TL;DR: We often look at organizational structures, legacy code, or even geopolitical borders and ask, "Who designed this mess? It makes no sense." Why is the Cantonese region split into two provinces? Why are culturally distinct regions forced together? History teaches us that this isn't incompetence; it is a sophisticated control mechanism known as "Dog’s Teeth Interlocking." Sometimes, a system is designed to be locally broken to ensure it remains globally stable.
James here, CEO of Mercury Technology Solutions. Narita, Chiba, Japan - December 18, 2025
In systems engineering, we are obsessed with optimization. We want low latency, high cohesion, and loose coupling. When we see friction, we try to refactor it.
But recently, I was reading about the origins of the Chinese provincial system, and it reminded me of a critical lesson in System Architecture: Sometimes, friction is the goal.
The Bug: Why is the Map "Wrong"?
Look at a map of Southern China. Culturally, the Cantonese-speaking region should logically be one administrative unit. Yet, it is split into Guangdong and Guangxi. Meanwhile, the Teochew region (which is culturally Min-nan/Fujianese) is shoehorned into Guangdong.
Look at Jiangsu. The North (Subei) and South (Sunan) have completely different dialects and cultures, yet they are forced into one province.
If you view this as a "User Experience" (UX) design for the people living there, it is a terrible design. It creates internal conflict, identity confusion, and administrative inefficiency.
It looks like a Bug.
The Feature: The "Satrap" Algorithm
It turns out, this bug was introduced by the Mongols during the Yuan Dynasty, but the "code" was actually imported from the Persian Khwarezmian Empire.
When Genghis Khan conquered Persia, he didn't just take land; he acquired Administrative Tech. He imported Persian bureaucrats (like Mahmud Yalavach) who introduced the concept of the "Satrap" (provincial governor) and a specific geometric strategy called "Dog’s Teeth Interlocking" (犬牙交錯).
The logic is ruthless but brilliant:
- The Threat: If a province is culturally unified and geographically self-contained (bounded by mountains or rivers), it naturally forms a strong identity. A strong identity creates a Schelling Point for rebellion against the central empire.
- The Patch: You deliberately draw borders that cut across natural cultural and geographical lines.
- The Result: You force culturally distinct groups (e.g., Cantonese and Teochew) to coexist in the same administrative unit.
Why is this stable? Because the groups spend their energy fighting each other for local resources and political dominance. The internal friction prevents them from uniting to challenge the Central Authority (The Emperor).
The "brokenness" of the local system guarantees the stability of the global system.
The Export-Import Cycle of Bureaucracy
The text I read highlighted a fascinating loop:
- The system was invented in Persia/Rome (Divide and Conquer).
- Imported by the Mongols to China.
- The Mongols also exported Chinese census and household registration systems to Russia (The Golden Horde).
- This evolved into the Soviet system, which then influenced modern China.
It is a classic case of "Export turned Domestic Sales" (出口轉內銷). Systems of control are durable technologies; they survive the empires that create them.
Enterprise Lessons: When to Break the System
Why does this matter for us in Tech or Business?
We often see "Broken Systems" in large corporations.
- Why do Sales and Marketing report to different EVPs who hate each other?
- Why are the Engineering teams split into competing silos?
Before you try to "fix" it, ask yourself: Is this friction intentional?
In large organizations, a "Matrix Structure" often feels inefficient (the broken province). But it prevents any single division from becoming too powerful or going rogue (secession). It forces different departments to appeal to the CEO (The Emperor) to resolve conflicts, thereby centralizing power.
Conclusion: Inspect the "Legacy Code"
The modern situation in Hong Kong, or the borders of Jiangsu, are remnants of this ancient "Persian Code."
As architects, when we see a system that looks illogical, we must pause.
- Junior Engineer: "This is messy. I need to refactor it to be clean."
- Senior Architect: "This is messy. Who benefits from the mess?"
Sometimes, the "Bug" of local inefficiency is the "Feature" that prevents the whole system from collapsing.
Mercury Technology Solutions: Accelerate Digitality.
