Throughout Chinese history, all the prosperous times have always been accompanied by the emergence of a large number of talented and wise men; All historical figures who have made achievements and made achievements always attach great importance to the issue of talents. Stories such as Xiao He chasing Han Xin under the moon and Liu Bei asking for "Wolong" have become well-known to everyone and have become a good story through the ages. Here, I would like to tell another story of the ancients recommending the virtuous and using the virtuous, in order to arouse everyone's thinking.

Li Shimin, Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, is a figure that everyone is familiar with, and his employment policy has always been praised by later generations. After he became emperor, he asked the minister Feng Deyi to be responsible for recommending talents. But a few months have passed, and Feng Deyi has not recommended anyone. Not only did he not recommend it, but he also said that he was "not undedicated, but he has no genius ears today". Tang Taizong immediately refuted him and said: "A gentleman uses people like tools, and each takes his strengths." The rulers of the ancients, how can they borrow from other generations! is suffering from people who can't know themselves, and who can slander a lifetime. It means that a gentleman's selection of talents is like using utensils, and each should learn from each other's strengths, which varies from person to person. Otherwise, can we still borrow talents from other dynasties? If you can't recommend talents, it can only mean that you don't know talents, how can you say that there are no talents, isn't this too demeaning for people in the world? Tang Taizong eliminated resistance, opened up talents, eclecticated, and promoted newcomers, a more prominent example is the discovery and reuse of Ma Zhou. Ma Zhou came from a humble background and had a poor family, so he lived in Zhonglang Jiangchang He's house as a guest. Once, Tang Taizong asked the ministers to "say the gains and losses", that is, to let the ministers give advice to the emperor, and Ma Zhou wrote a statement with more than 20 opinions for Chang He. Tang Taizong was greatly appreciative after reading it, and when he knew from Chang He's mouth that it was written by Ma Zhou, he immediately sent someone to invite it, because it was too slow, and he also sent someone to urge. Tang Taizong personally talked to Ma Zhou, who was only 29 years old at the time, and thought that he was very talented, so he arranged for him to become an official in Menxia Province, and he was continuously promoted in the future. Ma Zhou helped Tang Taizong deal with many complicated events and became a famous minister for a while. Because Tang Taizong was eclectic, opened up talents, and reused talents, the period of his rule became a rare period of peace in China's feudal society, and the famous "rule of Zhenguan" appeared.

——"The Immeasurable Role of Talent in Economic Development" (April 25, 1983) from "Knowing and Loving"

Further reading:

Tang Taizong Li Shimin's talent flourishing can be described as a galaxy. Fang Xuanling diligently serves the country and knows everything; Li Jingcai is both civil and military, and he will enter the phase; Wei Zheng is not as good as Yao and Shun, and he takes it as his responsibility to admonish; Wang Qi is turbid and pure, jealous of evil and good; Dai Xuan is busy with dramas, and everyone is done. It is precisely because people make the best use of their talents and materials that they have created the "rule of Zhenguan" that will go down in history. This reflects the mind of Tang Taizong Li Shimin from one side, he refutes the fallacy of Feng Deyi's "but there is no genius ear today", and also shows that he is eager to seek talent and have the bearing of a corporal who is virtuous.

Xi Jinping also told the story of Tang Taizong's discovery and reuse of Ma Zhou. Ma Zhou came from a humble background and had a poor family, and lived in the house of Chang He as a guest in Zhonglang Jiang, because he wrote a note with more than 20 opinions for Chang He, and was highly appreciated and reused. Ma Zhou once put forward the proposition that "since ancient times, the rise and fall of the country is not how much you have saved, but only in the bitterness and happiness of the people", and Mao Zedong, who loves to read history, also spoke highly of Ma Zhou's current political performance, calling it "the first strange article after Jia Sheng's "Public Security Policy". Tang Taizong once said: I miss Ma Zhou when I don't see him for a day. It can be seen that Ma Zhou's status in Li Shimin's heart, and the prime minister at that time, Cen Wenwen, also said that Ma Zhou's talent was comparable to Zhang Liang of the Han Dynasty. In 644 A.D. (the eighteenth year of Zhenguan), Ma Zhou became the prime minister, and also served as the teacher of the crown prince Li Zhi, who taught Li Zhi earnestly and taught Li Zhi how to govern, which played a great role in Li Zhi's governance after becoming emperor. In order to commend Ma Zhou's great contribution to the country, Tang Taizong personally wrote an inscription for Ma Zhou: "Luan Feng Lingyun, must have wings." The sending of the humerus is honest in loyalty. He gave a very high evaluation to Ma Zhou, which was rare in the early years of the Tang Dynasty, where famous ministers gathered and sages came out in large numbers.

Xi Jinping told the story of Tang Taizong's eclectic selection of talents, explaining the important role of opening up talents and reusing talents for good governance, and put forward the idea of "employing people like tools, each taking their strengths" to do a good job in talent work.

Xi Jinping has always attached great importance to the work of talents, and repeatedly emphasized that "the key to running China's affairs well lies in the party, the key to people, and the key to talents", and "without a grand team of high-quality talents, it is difficult to achieve the goal of building a moderately prosperous society in an all-round way and the Chinese dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation", explaining the extreme importance of talents from the height of the overall strategic situation; "Whoever can cultivate and attract more outstanding talents will be able to occupy an advantage in the competition", showing the important role of talent work from the perspective of international competition; "Establish a strong sense of talent, look for talents, find talents, find talents like treasures, recommend talents without sticking to one pattern, and use talents to the best of their ability", from the perspective of respecting talents, explain the realistic path of deepening the reform of talent mechanism. Xi Jinping's thirst for talent is a reminder to leading cadres at all levels, and it is also a deep call for talents in the world.