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Being Talented is Not Enough
There is a story in the book History as a Mirror(《资治通鉴》) by Chinese historian Sima Guang.
Zhi Xuanzi was the head of Zhi, a big family of Jin the late Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC). He wanted a man named Zhi Yao the head of the family.
However. man in the family, named Zhi Guo, was against the idea. Zhi Guo said Zhi Yao was good at many things. For example, he was good at riding and shooting. He was decisive and talkative. Zhi Guo pointed out that he made a big moral weakness (道德上的缺点)—he was unkind.
Still. Zhi Xuanzi Zhi Yao became the head of the family. He quickly made the Zhi family the strongest in Jin. However, because of his aggressive (咄咄逼人的) style, three other families worked together to fight against the Zhi family. Finally, the Zhi family .
Sima Guang used this story to talk about how important virtue (德行) is. Talent is not enough. Excellent people have not only talent, but also virtue.
If a person has virtue but no talent, he or she might work inefficiently(低效的). If a person has talent but no virtue, he or she might go in the wrong . Having talent and virtue has been a common pursuit (追求) for people in China. Those have talent and virtue were called xiancai (贤才) in ancient times. If you ask which one is between the two, it must be virtue. Only if a person has virtue can he or she get on the right way.
