To accurately and fairly recognize talent is something that China has a good tradition of. During the slave period in the Shang Dynasty, there were two slave prime ministers: one named Yi Yin and the other named Fu Yue. They later became famous figures in Chinese history.
Yi Yin was originally a slave in the household of Shang Tang's father-in-law. Later, he came to Shang Tang's house as part of the dowry. His job was to be a cook and prepare meals for his master. Before Shang Tang became king, he was eager to defeat the tyrant Jie of the Xia Dynasty but didn't know how to utilize talent. He found that the dishes prepared by Yi Yin, the slave, tasted very good, so he asked for the reason. Yi Yin explained the principles of selecting ingredients, controlling saltiness, and mastering the timing of cooking. He then extended the meaning to governing the country and how to overcome strong enemies, telling Shang Tang not to be too hasty or too slow. Shang Tang was greatly inspired and believed that although Yi Yin was a slave, he was a rare talent. Therefore, he appointed Yi Yin as the "Right Chancellor."
Indeed, Yi Yin was a talented person. Not only did he help Shang Tang overthrow the Xia Dynasty and establish the Shang Dynasty, but he also helped Shang Tang formulate a series of institutional regulations and rules for selecting officials.
Shang Tang ruled for only 13 years before he fell ill and died. Yi Yin continued to assist Shang Tang's son and grandson. Shang Tang's grandson, Tai Jia, became bad for a while. For this reason, Yi Yin wrote three articles to teach him to read. At first, Tai Jia could still listen to Yi Yin's advice, but gradually he no longer wanted to hear the nagging from this slave-born man and subsequently did many wrong things. Yi Yin had no choice but to take over the administration himself and exiled Tai Jia to the tomb site of his grandfather Shang Tang, forcing him to repent. Eventually, Tai Jia improved, and Yi Yin restored his kingship.
The other prime minister of the Shang Dynasty who was born a slave was named Fu Yue.
Fu Yue was originally a slave, but he was very intelligent. When he came to Wu Ding (the 22nd king of the Shang Dynasty), Wu Ding learned many labor skills from Fu Yue and developed thrifty habits. Moreover, he discovered that Fu Yue was a self-taught genius who understood many great principles that even nobles did not know. Thus, he appointed Fu Yue as the prime minister.
From the above stories, at least we realize a very simple yet difficult-to-achieve principle: appointing people based on their merit. What does "merit" mean? Simply put, it means having both moral integrity and competence.
Unfortunately, throughout thousands of years of Chinese history, there have been far too many examples contrary to this principle. The most prominent example is appointing people based on nepotism, which led to appointing people based on birth, titles, academic qualifications, fame, and social connections.
During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, there was a system called the "Nine-rank System," which meant that high-ranking officials could only come from noble families, while commoners had no chance to become officials.
In the Yuan Dynasty, the hierarchy of people was even more severe: first, officials; second, clerks; third, monks; fourth, Taoist priests; fifth, doctors; sixth, artisans; seventh, hunters; eighth, ordinary people; ninth, scholars; tenth, beggars. Even intellectuals were considered part of the lower class, much like the "stinking old ninth" during the later Cultural Revolution era. How could true talent be selected under such conditions?
After the reform and opening-up, China's view on talent underwent significant changes, including valuing knowledge and talent. However, there is still a considerable distance from fully achieving the principle of appointing people solely based on their actual virtue, ability, talent, and performance.
Without mentioning the cases where people are selected based on family relationships, social connections, and interpersonal relationships, even overemphasizing academic qualifications, degrees, titles, honors, and using them as standards to determine talent is quite common, almost becoming the norm.
It must be clear that talent cannot be forcibly manufactured according to a certain model, nor can it be recognized through artificial methods. It must be tested by objective reality.
For instance, some people may meet the criteria mentioned above, but they can only be called qualified personnel, not qualified talent, let alone excellent talent. What are the real standards for excellent talent? The key standard is the unity of morality, intelligence level, and practical skills.