| Dead Horse and Talents | |
During the Warring States Period (475-221 B.C.), the State of
Yan was defeated by the State of Qi. When King Zhao was
crowned as the king of Yan, he was determined to make his state strong to remove
the humiliation. Yet he complained that he did not have real
talents to assist him.
One day, he said to Guo Wei, a
minister, "Can you tell me how I can get great talents?" Guo
Wei replied by telling a story.
"Once there was a king who
offered hundreds of ounces of gold for a winged steed, a horse
which can run 500 kilometers a day. He sent one of
his men to search through the country but the man only brought
back a pile of bones of a dead steed for half of the gold. The
king got outraged. But the man said, 'When people learn that
you have paid so much for a dead horse, they will certainly
offer to sell you a steed if anyone has got one.' As was
expected, the king got three steeds in less than a year. If
you are sincerely seeking top talents, why don't you treat me
as a dead horse of that sort now?"
King Zhao did build Guo Wei a very expensive villa and regarded
him as a teacher. Also he built a platform on which he placed a
lot of presents for guests from different parts. Soon his sincerity
was spread to every corner of the land. In a couple of years, great
talents such as Ju Xin, Su Dai, Zou Yan, Le Yi all came from different
states to gather around King Zhao. Very soon, with the assistance
of them, Yan became a powerful state and defeated Qi. King Zhao
accomplished his dream of revenge.
Written by our column writer Martin Ye.
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