What are your thoughts on the story of King Wen of Zhou’s visit to the wise?

King Wen of Zhou was one of the wisest emperors in ancient Chinese history, and was known as a role model for emperors who knew how to employ people. Many of his ways of governing the country have been praised by future generations. Even today, with the reform and opening up, there are still things worth learning from him. In his way of governing the country, he was also famous for his best use of people. King Wen of Zhou was very unique in employing people. He was able to discern people with a keen eye, make the best use of talents, and knew how to put these talents in the highest priority. The suitable position formed a political group that was united and shared the same hatred and the same enemy, so that at the end of the Shang Dynasty and the beginning of the Zhou Dynasty, "the world was divided into three parts, and the Zhou Dynasty had two", leaving many shining examples of successful employment, among which the allusion of "King Wen visiting the wise" The most famous, most influential, famous throughout the ages.

From the allusion of "King Wen visits the wise", we can clearly see the uniqueness and excellence of King Wen of Zhou's way of employing people, as well as several basic principles of his way of employing people:

1. Recognize people with a keen eye, and use your strengths and avoid weaknesses

Jiang Ziya is a talented man with both civil and military skills who can bring peace to the world. However, before "King Wen visited the wise", no one could truly realize his value. When he was in Chaoge, the capital of Shang Dynasty, King Zhou of Shang Dynasty thought that he was old-fashioned, stupid, out of date, and only had a small fortune-telling skills, so he wanted to capture him for his own selfish purposes, causing him to flee everywhere. After escaping home, Jiang Ziya's wife, Ma, believed that he was incompetent and was "the most useless person in the world" because he couldn't even do a small business that ordinary people could do. There was no future for him, so she forced him to He wrote a letter of divorce and left him angrily. While fishing in Fenxi River, the woodcutter Wuji laughed at him for being so stupid that he couldn't even catch fish. When Jiang Ziya defended himself, saying that Wuji was blind, Wuji actually punched him, causing him to say, "When a scholar meets a soldier, he is justified." I can’t tell”, very embarrassed. When King Wu paid a visit to King Wen, Jiang Ziya said, "Fishing, fishing, fishing. If the big ones don't reach the small ones, don't fish!" Li not only told King Wen that Jiang Ziya was of no great use, but also prevented King Wen of Zhou from visiting Diaoyutai to visit wise men and so on. It seems that Jiang Ziya is really an old fisherman who is running into trouble and is of no great use. But King Wen of Zhou was able to discern people with a keen eye, and he could see the essence of the problem from these phenomena. He believes that talents are needed to prosper Zhou Dynasty, and only talents can achieve great things.

The most fundamental competition between Shang and Zhou was the competition for talents. Whoever has talents will have the future. Whoever gets talents will win the world. In the final analysis, all competitions are competitions for talents. If Xiqi wants to rise, it must select and find talents. He also believes that talent is not an all-rounder who can do everything. As long as the person can perform creative work in a certain field or aspect, he is a talent. Although Jiang Ziya is not as good as most ordinary people in many ways, in terms of commanding troops to fight and governing the world, he has been unparalleled since ancient times. In this regard, he is a rare great talent for thousands of years. This is what people often say: " A ruler is shorter, an inch is longer." As the saying goes, "There is no pure gold, and no one is perfect." If you seek perfection and blame, there will be no one who can be used. If you use your strengths and avoid your weaknesses, there will be no one who can't be used. The ancients said: "A horse can take risks, plowing land is not as good as an ox, a strong chariot can carry a heavy load, crossing a river is not as good as a boat, sacrificing the long for the short, it is difficult for a wise man to make a fortune, be careful not to be too demanding when making money." Deeply understand the dialectical relationship between long and short. , King Wen of Zhou believed that although Jiang Ziya was not as good as the most ordinary people in many places, he was full of strategy, knowledgeable, knowledgeable about geography, and understood astronomy. He longed for talents in the world who could help him prosper the Zhou dynasty, destroy the Shang Dynasty, and seize the world. Therefore, he went to Diaoyutai to visit the talents in person and invited Jiang Ziya to come out. This created a legend that will be passed down through the ages.

2. Have a heart-to-heart talk and deepen understanding during the conversation

King Wen of Zhou was also a very rough man. Because of his ability and political integrity, he had a high prestige among the princes and was often attacked. Because of the suspicion of King Yin of Shang Dynasty, he spent almost the best time of his life in King Yin's prison. It was not until King Zhou felt that he was old, weak, sick and dying that he was not a big threat to his throne, so he released him to Xiqi. . After King Wen of Zhou returned to Xiqi, he knew that God did not have much time left for him, but he had a lot to do, especially when there were successors in Xiqi. Although his successor, King Wu of Zhou, was shrewd and capable, he was still young and had not experienced hardships. He was prone to being impulsive and needed an unparalleled talent to assist him, otherwise he would not be able to take on a big role.

He had been searching for a long time in the country, but there was no suitable candidate, and he was very anxious. When he heard the rumors about Jiang Ziya, he felt that Jiang Ziya was a wizard, and he might be the person he was looking for. He learned from the experience of King Wu's failed visit to the wise man. The lesson is that he is not at ease when others visit him. He is unwilling to give up this opportunity. Regardless of his old age and illness, he insists on visiting in person and conducting interviews to find out the truth.

After King Wen of Zhou arrived at the place where Jiang Ziya was fishing, he exchanged a few pleasantries and immediately put down his arrogance as a king. Regardless of the etiquette of monarchs and ministers and his own old age and illness, he sat on the ground with his knees touching and having an intimate conversation. Then he quickly changed the topic to the strategy of uniting troops to fight and governing the country, and used a series of questions and answers to understand Jiang Ziya’s philosophy of running the country and uniting the army. This is probably the earliest record of the face-to-face examination and conversation of our cadres today, and based on Their talents should be tailored to suit their needs, and they should be appointed according to their talents, and strive to achieve the appropriate functions, because over-qualification will waste talents, and over-utilization of over-qualification will inevitably make it difficult for them to take on big responsibilities, which will cause losses to the career. Someone made a careful record of the conversation between King Wen of Zhou and Jiang Ziya. This was the prototype of the later "Six Tao" art of war. Through this "interview" review, King Zhou Wen gained a very comprehensive understanding of Jiang Ziya's virtues, talents, and abilities. He learned many things that he wanted to know but didn't know. He quickly broadened his horizons and discovered that Jiang Ziya was the person he had been dreaming about. He wanted to find a genius in the world, but regretted that he had taken many detours, which strengthened his determination to reuse Jiang Ziya. This not only showed King Zhou Wen's bold side, but also showed King Zhou Wen's cautious side, and revealed King Zhou Wen's talent for employing people. The excellence of Tao.

3. Be honest with each other and move the world by bending down.

After King Zhou Wen fled back to Xiqi from the Shang Dynasty, he learned from the pain and determined to prosper the Zhou Dynasty and destroy the Shang Dynasty. He weighed it and felt Although there are many talents around him, he lacks a commander who can strategize, command and lead the overall situation. King Wen of Zhou found that Jiang Ziya was extraordinary in conversation, knowledgeable and masterful in governing the country and using troops. The handsome man I longed for was so late to meet him. When he saw Jiang Ziya's gray hair, he felt very unhappy. He blamed himself for his carelessness and serious dereliction of duty, allowing a unique genius to catch fish for ten years under his nose, wasting ten years of precious time and a human life. How many decades can it last? I felt sorry for Jiang Ziya from the bottom of my heart. In order to express his guilt and apology, he made a move that touched the ages. He got out of the car and bowed and stretched the carriage Jiang Ziya was riding in to show his honesty. Later, people deduced the story and legend of "Eight Hundred and Eight Steps" based on this, which has been passed down to this day.

A majestic king bowed down and stretched himself in a carriage for a wanted criminal. He was so candid that few kings in ancient and modern times could do this. "People are not grass and trees, how can they be ruthless"? This not only made Jiang Ziya wholeheartedly contribute to the great cause of prospering Zhou Dynasty and destroying Shang, but also had a good advertising effect, allowing more talents to see that King Wen of Zhou was people-oriented, respected knowledge, and respected people. Talents, encouraging talents to pursue careers, are the wise saints who are hard to find in a thousand years. They will naturally gather in Xiqi from all directions, making this place more talented, the national power will increase dramatically, and the effect of getting twice the result with half the effort can be seen. It can be seen that King Wen of Zhou Not only is he good at employing people, but he is also good at winning over talents.

4. Employ without doubt and use talents boldly

Through careful understanding and inspection of Jiang Ziya, King Zhou Wen found that Jiang Ziya was a world-famous genius with both ability and political integrity. Some are virtuous but not talented, some are talented but not virtuous, and some are virtuous and talented. The virtuous and talented can use it with confidence and boldness, the virtuous but not talented can use it under supervision, and the ungrateful and talented can be restricted. Those who have no virtue or talent cannot use it, but Jiang Ziya has both virtue and talent, so he can use it freely and boldly. Taking character, knowledge, ability and performance as important criteria for measuring talents, regardless of qualifications or status, we decided to select and employ people in an eclectic way, and against all opinions, we wanted to worship Jiang Ziya as the Grand Master (equivalent to the later Prime Minister) and the post of Generalissimo of Soldiers and Horses), preparing to put it on the most important position in Xiqi Kingdom.

As soon as King Zhou Wen’s decision was announced, it was immediately criticized by both the government and the public.

Some people think that Jiang Ziya came to Xiqi and did not make any achievements. He was suddenly placed in the highest position, which must have caused dissatisfaction among the people and the army, causing chaos. Others think that Jiang Ziya came from the Shang Dynasty. It is not clear what his intentions are. Could it be? What about the spies sent by the Shang Dynasty? Not only cannot they be reused, but they should be monitored and controlled. This put a lot of pressure on King Wen of Zhou. However, King Wen of Zhou believed that people should not be artificially assigned or formed into cliques. No matter where they come from, they are all equal. Treat everyone equally, and as long as you select and employ people out of public motives, the country will have no talented people left behind. He feels that when employing people, one should "do not trust people and do not trust people." Not only should those who have positions have power, but also power should be distributed to truly capable subordinates. Only in this way can people make the best use of their talents and improve the business of Ming Dynasty. Administrative effectiveness. When employing people, we should also adhere to the principle of no doubt in employing people, fully trust and boldly use talents, so as to mobilize the enthusiasm and creativity of subordinates, form centripetal force and cohesion, enhance unity, work as one, work together, and work well. Zhou's great cause of destroying Shang. King Wen of Zhou also felt that he was too old, and King Wu was too young. Time flies, and time waits for no one. Goals, duties, powers and responsibilities should be assigned to subordinates, so that all kinds of talents can be in their positions, pursue their own affairs, and subordinates. With their talents, let go of their hands and feet, work boldly, support talents to achieve their careers, and truly form a social environment that allows talents to prosper and achieve great business.

To sum up, we can clearly see that King Wen of Zhou's way of employing people is rare among emperors throughout the ages, and he is a rare wise king in history. Under his operation, the monarchs and ministers of Xiqi were sincerely united, united as one, worked together in harmony, and worked hard to make Xiqi rise in a short period of time. In the world at the end of the Shang Dynasty, Zhou dominated the world Second, it laid a solid foundation for the final overthrow of the Shang Zhou Dynasty and the establishment of a powerful Western Zhou Dynasty. Although the Western Zhou Dynasty was established during the reign of King Wu of Zhou, its foundation was laid during the reign of King Wen of Zhou. Therefore, King Wen of Zhou was also one of the actual founders of the Western Zhou Dynasty.

Because King Wen of Zhou was very good at employing people, he was not only praised by future generations of kings, but also unanimously recognized and highly praised by society and the people. Take the Jiang Ziya Diaoyutai as an example. It is where Jiang Ziya fished in the past. The main temple should be Jiang Ziya, but the one with the highest position and the largest and highest building scale and level is the Wenwang Temple. This is because King Wen of Zhou is the king and Jiang Ziya is the king. Chen's reasons, but the more important reason is that people generally believe that although Jiang Ziya is a unique genius, it is in vain that he does not meet someone like King Wen of Zhou who recognizes talents, because there are countless talents like Jiang Ziya buried in the world. Thousand-mile horses often exist, but Bole does not always exist. People who know how to use people are much more important than talents. Therefore, the Master built the Wenwang Temple next to the Diaoyutai, which is more majestic than the Taigong Temple. That’s why today’s structure was formed. This shows that King Wen of Zhou's employment practices had a profound impact on society. It also shows the society's highest affirmation and recognition of King Zhou Wen's employment of people for thousands of years.