西门豹为邺令
Ximen Bao Was Appointed as Chief Official of Ye
【原文】
西门豹为邺令，而辞乎魏文侯。文侯曰子往矣！必就子之功而 成子之名。”西门豹曰敢问就功成名，亦有术乎？”文侯曰有之.夫 乡邑老者而先受坐之士，子入而问其贤良之士而师事之，求其好掩人之 美而扬人之丑者而参验之。夫物多相类而非也：幽莠之幼也似禾，骊牛 之黄也似虎，白骨疑象，武夫类玉。此皆似之而非者也。”
【今译】
西门豹出任邱地的长官，向魏文侯辞行。魏文侯说：“你到了那里， 一定要功成名就。”西门豹问斗胆问一句，有什么办法能做到功成名 就吗？”魏文侯说广有。你去向乡村、城邑中受尊敬的老人打听贤良的 士人并且拜他们为师；找那些喜欢隐瞒别人的优点而宣杨别人的过失 的人，考察核对他们的话是否正确。很多事物似是而非：狗尾草的幼苗 像禾苗，野牛黄色的皮毛像老虎，白色的骨头被怀疑是象牙，武夫石像玉。这些都是似是而非的东西。”
Ximen Bao was appointed as chief official of Ye. Before he left for Ye，he went to say good-bye to Marquis Wen of Wei- Marquis Wen said, “You go there to make great contributions and gain a high reputation. ” Ximen Bao asked, “Is there any way of making great contributions and gaining a high reputation?” Marquis Wen said, “Yes, After you arrive there，go to visit those respectable old people in every town and village and ask them to recommend worthy scholars to you. Then you can regard these scholars as mentors and learn from them. Look for those trying to cover up others，strong points and exposing their shortcomings and then verify their statements to see whether or not they are true. Many things are specious. Young foxtail grass looks like cereal crops. One might confuse the yellow skin of a urus with that of a tiger. White bones are thought to be ivories. Wufu (referring to a kind of stone which looks like jade) look like jade. All these things are specious. ”