The U.S. Navy actually imitated the Chinese army in folding “tofu block” quilts. What’s the secret behind this? ​

Many sentences in ancient Chinese books reveal the importance of “little things”. They remind us of the possibility of “drops of water penetrating stone” and the philosophy of “quantitative and qualitative change”.

These sentences are not only reflected in ancient books, but also have a profound impact on the living habits of the Chinese people. The most specific and obvious manifestation is the “quilt folding” tradition that the Chinese military has always adhered to.

Since childhood, we have been taught to fold the quilt after getting up in the morning, but not many people do it.

However, in the Chinese army, folding quilts is a task that must be completed and performed.

The persistence of Chinese soldiers in folding quilts even shocked many foreigners and foreign soldiers, including US President Richard Nixon.

In the late 1960s, the United States began to try to ease relations with China and visited China on February 21, 1972 to establish diplomatic relations.

When Americans visiting China visited the dormitories of Chinese soldiers and saw quilts as neat as tofu blocks, they were surprised.

Who wouldn’t find it pleasing to see such tofu cubes?

As a result, President Nixon immediately stated that he wanted American soldiers to follow suit.

However, this order could not be implemented for a long time because American soldiers believed that it was unnecessary to spend a lot of time doing repetitive and meaningless things, and they did not like to be restrained.

But there was one American who saw this behavior for what it was: William McRaven.

Born into a military family, he served as a very popular and respected admiral in the United States Navy and the former commander of the Navy SEALs, one of the top ten special forces in the world.

By chance, he accompanied Nixon on a tour of the Chinese military’s internal affairs, and insisted that the U.S. Navy fold quilts into “tofu blocks.”

After six months of repeated training, William McCrae’s troops have significantly improved in terms of spirit, self-discipline, and obedience.

Many service members have also felt their own changes.

Therefore, the annoying little thing of “making quilts” existed until William McCrae left office.

William McRae discovered that the small matter of “folding a quilt” actually contains a deeper meaning — cultivating self-discipline from small things, thereby improving the awareness of obedience and improving the execution ability of the army.

He even wrote a book about it, “Folding the Quilt: An Admiral’s Training for Life.”

The first lesson of this book tells about the huge power that a small thing like making your bed can bring.

After being published in 2017, this book became a best-selling inspirational book in the United Kingdom and the United States and became popular in at least 13 countries.

The vigorous appearance and high degree of discipline and organization of the Chinese military are admirable. “Quilt folding” has now become a compulsory course for military personnel generally accepted by various countries.

This also reflects the self-discipline spirit of Chinese soldiers — lack of self-discipline means that they cannot sustain and endure, and naturally they cannot complete the assigned tasks calmly, and they are prone to make many mistakes caused by irritability and impulsiveness.

This spiritual core is also the key to the Chinese military’s ability to perform tasks so efficiently.