大公無私 (Dà gōng wú sī) – Being Impartial Without [Any] Prejudice
Please refer to the following link for an extensive discussion of this story: http://www.sino-platonic.org/complete/spp255_zuozhuan_qi_xi.pdf
In the Spring and Autumn Period, Duke Ping of Jin once asked Qi Huangyang (祁黃羊): “Nanyang (南陽) County lacks a county magistrate, who do you think would be the most suitable person for this post?” Qi Huangyang replied without hesitation: “Send Xie Hu (解狐), who is most suitable. He is surely most qualified for the post!” Duke Ping was greatly surprised and asked him again: “Isn’t Xie Hu your enemy? Why then do you still recommend him?” Qi Huangyang replied: “Your highness only asked me who is competent and [is] up to the task, and he is most qualified for it; your highness did not ask me if Xie Hu is, or is not, my enemy!” As such, Duke Ping sent Xie Hu to Nanyang County to occupy the post. After Xie Hu took office, he did many good deeds for the people there, and everyone had [high] praises for him.
Days later, Duke Ping again asked Qi Huangyang: “We currently lack a judge in our court. Who do you think is most qualified for this post?” Qi Huangyang said: “Qi Wu (祁午) is most suitable.” Duke Ping was again baffled [by his answer], he asked: “Isn’t Qi Wu your son? Aren’t you afraid that others would gossip [behind your back] when you recommend your own son [for the post]?” Qi Huangyang replied: “Your highness only asked me who is most qualified, and that was why I recommended him; your highness did not ask me if Qi Wu is, or is not, my son!” Duke Ping then made Qi Wu a judge, who did many good deeds for the people, and was very popular and loved by them.
When Kong Zi heard these two stories, he had high praises for Qi Huangyang. Kong Zi said: “Qi Huangyang said it very well indeed! When he recommended someone, he used talent as the sole criterion for doing so. When someone was his enemy, he did not harbor ill thoughts for the person and not make the recommendation; nor when someone was his own son, he did not fear other people’s criticism and not make the recommendation. Only people like Qi Huangyang can be said to be “Being Impartial Without [Any] Prejudice”!
—– VOCABULARY —–
祁 qí – large, vast [[kì: thịnh, lớn; tên đất, ấp của Tần thời Xuân Thu, nay thuộc tỉnh Thiểm Tây; họ “Kì”]]
缺 quē – deficiency; lack; scarce; vacant post; to run short of [[khuyết: sứt mẻ, vỡ lở; chỗ mẻ, chỗ hổng; chỗ thiếu sót, chỗ không hoàn hảo; chỗ trống (chỉ chức vụ); thiếu, không đủ; suy vi, suy nhược; để trống, vắng, để thiếu sót]]
比較 bǐ jiào – to compare; to contrast; comparatively; relatively; quite; comparison [[so sánh, so với; hơn (so sánh)]]
較 jiào – to compare; to dispute; compared to; (before adj.) relatively; comparatively; rather [[giếu, giảo: so sánh; khái lược, đại khái; hiệu số; giảo: khá, tương đối; rõ rệt, rành rành]]
合適 hé shì – suitable; fitting; appropriate [[thích hợp, phù hợp, đúng đắn]]
適 shì – to fit; suitable; proper; just (now); comfortable; well; to go; to follow or pursue [[thích: vừa ý, dễ chịu; đi đến; con gái xuất giá; thuận theo; tương hợp, tương đương; vừa, vừa vặn, đúng lúc; chỉ; vừa, vừa mới; ngẫu nhiên, tình cờ]]
毫 háo – hair; drawing brush; (in the) least; one thousandth; currency unit, 0.1 yuan [[hào: lông dài mà nhọn; lượng từ: trong phép cân đo, mười “hào” là một li, tức là một phần trong muôn phần của một lạng; cái bút; nhỏ lắm; tí, chút, mảy may]]
遲疑 chí yí – to hesitate
遲 chí – late; delayed; slow [[trì: chậm, thong thả, chậm chạp chậm lụt, không mẫn tiệp; muộn, trễ; do dự, không quyết; trí: đợi, mong chờ, kì vọng; vừa, kịp, đến lúc]]
狐 hú – fox [[hồ: con hồ (con cáo)]]
能夠 néng gòu – to be capable of; to be able to; can
勝任 shèng rèn – qualified; competent (professionally); to be up to a task
驚奇 jīng qí – to be amazed; to be surprised; to wonder
推薦 tuī jiàn – to recommend, recommendation
薦 jiàn – to recommend; to offer sacrifice (arch.); grass; straw mat [[tiến: chiếu cói, đệm rơm; phẩm vật dâng tế; lót, đệm; dâng, cúng; tiến cử, giới thiệu; nhiều lần, trùng phức]]
上任 shàng rèn – to take office; previous (incumbent); predecessor [[thăng chức]]
替 tì – to substitute for; to take the place of; to replace; for; on behalf of; to stand in for [[thế: trừ, bỏ; thay; suy bại; vì, cho; đối với, hướng; và, với]]
稱頌 chēng sòng – to praise
頌 sòng – ode; eulogy; to praise in writing; to wish (in letters) [[tụng: một thể văn để tán dương, khen ngợi; khen ngợi, xưng tán; cầu chúc (thường dùng trong thư từ); ngâm đọc, đọc rõ ràng]]
午 wǔ – 7th earthly branch: 11am – 1pm, noon, 5th solar month (6th June – 6th July), year of the Horse; ancient chinese compass point: 180° (south) [[ngọ: chi “Ngọ”, chi thứ bảy trong mười hai chi; từ mười một giờ sáng đến một giờ chiều là giờ “ngọ”; buổi trưa (khoảng thời gian giữa ngày); tháng năm (âm lịch); “Thưởng ngọ” 晌午 buổi trưa]]
閑話 xián huà – digression; gossip; complaint; scandal
愛戴 ài dài – to love and respect; love and respect
戴 dài – to put on or wear (glasses, hat, gloves, etc); to respect; to bear; to support [[đái: đội, đeo; tôn kính, quý trọng]]
存心 cún xīn – deliberately [[thận trọng, cẩn thận, có tính toán trước]]
偏見 piān jiàn – prejudice
偏 piān – to lean; to slant; oblique; prejudiced; to deviate from average; to stray from the intended line; stubbornly; contrary to expectations; left-hand side of a split Chinese character, often the key or radical [[lệch, nghiêng, ngả, như “thiên kiến” 偏見 ý kiến thiên lệch; không hoàn toàn, phiến diện; không ở trung tâm, bên cạnh; xa xôi, hẻo lánh; không thân, không gần gũi; thâm, nhiều; vẫn, cứ, lại; vừa, đúng lúc; nghiêng về một bên, không công bình]]