Gong sun Long (公孙龙), a famous scholar lived in the State of Zhao (赵国) during the Warring States Period (战国,475――221BC), had a habit of maintaining a great number of skilled people around him.
战国时期,赵国有位名士叫公孙龙。他手下聚集了许多有自己特长的门客。
He often said, “A wise man should welcome anyone with a specialty.”
他常说:“一个聪明人应该善于接纳每一个有自己特长的人。”
One day, a man in shabby clothes came to see him and said to him:“ I have a special skill. “ Gong asked: “What is it?”“I have a loud voice and I‘m good at shouting.”
Some days later, Gong and his followers went on a trip.
没过多久,公孙龙和他的门客一起出外游玩。
They came to a wide river and found the boat was on the other side of the river. All of them had no idea. Suddenly, Gong thought of the shouting expert and turned to him, “Can you have a try?”
The man realized it was the chance to show his skill. He shouted to the ferryman as loud as he could, “Hey, ferryman, come here, we want to cross the river.” As his voice ended, the ferryman came to fetch them. Gong was very satisfied with the new follower.