When Emperor Yao (2356 – 2255 BC) was ruling China, he appointed people according to their capabilities and merits, in order to better rule the country. At that time,
At that time, there were Xi brothers, and He brothers. Yao asked them to teach people to farm properly according to the seasons. He assigned Xi Zhong to the east, and in charge of the spring farming; he assigned Xi Shu to the south, and in charge of the summer farming; he assigned He Zhong to the west, and in charge of the fall farming; he assigned He Shu to the north, and in charge of the winter farming. He further visited the people who were in charge of the different areas to look for talents. People recommended Shun (later Shun the Great) to him, and he made Yao the prime minister. Later he gave his position to Shun.
Yao didn’t do many concrete things himself. But everyone is doing the things they are best at, and the country was growing fast. It shows that although there can be only one person held accountable for everything, there should be many people working together to build a great country. Even if it was a great person like Yao or Shun, they would need great helpers and could not make it by themselves.
Chinese:
任贤图治
唐史纪：尧命羲和，敬授人时。羲仲居■夷，理东作；羲叔居南交，理南为；和仲居昧谷，理西成，和叔居朔方，理朔易。又访四岳，兴舜登庸。
【解】唐史上记：帝尧在位，任用贤臣，与图治理。那时贤臣有羲氏兄弟二人、和氏兄弟二人。帝尧着他四个人敬授人时。使羲仲居于东方■夷之地，管理春时耕作的事；使羲叔居于南方交趾之地，管理夏时变化的事；使和仲居于西方昧谷之地，管理秋时收成的事；使和叔居于北方幽都之地，管理冬时更易的事。又访问四岳之官，着他荐举天下贤人可用者，于是四岳举帝舜为相。那时天下贤才，都聚于朝廷之上，百官各举其职。帝尧垂拱无为，而天下自治。盖天下可以一人主之，不可以一人治之。虽以帝尧之圣，后世莫及，然亦必待贤臣而后能成功。《书》曰：“股肱惟人，良臣惟圣。”言股肱具而后成人，良臣众而后成圣，意亦为此。其后帝舜为天子，也跟着帝尧行事，任用九官十二牧，天下太平。乃与群臣作歌以记其盛，曰：“元首明哉，股肱良哉，庶事康哉。”所以古今称尧舜垂衣裳而天下治，斯任贤图治之效也。
【注】本则出自《尚书·虞书·尧典》。敬授人时：慎重地教导民众按季节从事农作。■夷、南交、昧谷、朔方：分指东、南、西、北四方边远之地。东作、南为、西成、朔易：分指春、夏、秋、冬四季的农事。四岳：分管四方的部落首领。登庸：登基，皇帝即位。这里指舜被推举为尧的继承人。
【评】帝尧是中国上古传说时代一个杰出的领袖人物。在他的众多政绩中，求贤若渴、任贤图治表现得尤为突出。他把自己信得过的得力助手羲仲、羲叔、和仲、和叔等人派到各地指导农业生产，还亲自走访五岳，寻找德才兼备的接班人。经过慎重的考察和试用，把帝位禅让给虞舜。虞舜继承了帝尧的良好作风，任用九官十二牧，也出现了天下太平的景象。
天下事，可以只由一个人说了算，却不可能只靠一个人治理好。个人的能力再强，即使像尧、舜这样圣明的君主，也必须依靠贤臣的辅佐才能成功。后人常说尧、舜无为而天下治，实际上是因为他们用人得当啊。
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