Long ago in Ancient China, there was an Association set up to represent the interests and rights of local merchants that plied the Silk Roads, Yangtze valleys and harsh western deserts for trade.
These merchants led hard nomadic lives and often found themselves competing to trade the same commodities. So they signed up as members with the Association to avoid self-cannibalization and for a more standardized way of existing together in harmony.
But among the Association members were some crafty exco personalities who harbored ambitions that went beyond China’s shores. But ambitions can be costly, and so a smooth plan was hatched to finance their ambitions…
‘We are organizing a trip to the Great Civilization of Eygpt! It is your one opportunity to see with your own eyes how Mother Nile blesses her land with her abundant waters! See how thin papyrus paper is! Learn of mummification secrets for eternal preservation, and finally of the wonders of Egyptian eye make-up for your Chinese women folk!’
Naturally, this got the ordinary Chinese merchants pretty excited. Sign-up was on a FCFS basis and soon a long line soon formed of hopefuls for the great Eygptian overseas trip.
In this while, a crafty-looking fella approached members in the queue, pulling them in turn to whisper something into their ear. Not long after this suspicious affair, one-by-one the smaller members dropped out and eventually all who remained standing in queue were the more affluent merchant members of the Association.
A merchant wife watching her husband walk away asked ‘What’s wrong honey?’
He replied, “Looks like this All-Paid Trip is only FOC for the organizing exco; the rest of us wanting to join needs to pay.”
“Then what about them?” she asked, pointing to those remaining in the queue.
The husband said, “Dear, isn’t obvious that only few can afford the 1000 taels of silver sponsorship requirement?”
The missus replied, “Oh thank you Honey! I just got an idea how to finance my entire Tupperware Women’s Committee to experience cherry blossoms in Japan!”
IT BYTES BACK! says: And thus the birth of the ‘creative sponsorship workings’ which has evolved to different levels of confusing complication amongst various sectors today.
