Duke Ping of Jin needed a capable magistrate for Nanyang and asked his minister Qi Huangyang to recommend someone. To everyone's surprise, Qi recommended Xie Hu - his own personal enemy. Later, when the duke needed a military commander, Qi recommended his own son Qi Wu, without a care for what others might say. In both cases, the appointees proved excellent. Confucius praised Qi Huangyang: he judged candidates solely on merit and character, never on personal feelings - whether the candidate was his enemy or his own flesh and blood. This was truly forgetting the private in service of the public.
春秋时代的晋平公要找一位有贤能的人担任南阳县的县令，因此他找来大夫祁黄羊，想请他推荐适合的人选。没想到，他竟不计前嫌推举了自己的仇人解狐。又有一次晋平公找一位勇敢善战的人担任军中统帅的职位，他知道之后，大力推荐自己的儿子祁午，一点都不担心别人闲言闲语。不论对方与自己的关系是好是坏，只要是适合的人选，他都会大方推荐，而他推荐的人也都很称职，更是证明了祁黄羊的好眼光。后来孔子听说了，称赞祁黄羊推荐人才完全以一个人的才德为标准，而不管对方是与自己敌对交恶的人，或是有血缘之亲的儿子，的确称得上是公而忘私。
Reflection & Analysis · 寓意解读
Core Wisdom
True fairness means recommending the right person regardless of personal grudges or family ties. Qi Huangyang's standard was pure merit - the hallmark of a just society.
True fairness means recommending the right person regardless of personal grudges or family ties. Qi Huangyang's standard was pure merit - the hallmark of a just society.