📖 Meaning
A metaphor for eagerly seeking talented individuals by offering generous rewards and demonstrating sincere commitment. It conveys the idea that a ruler or leader who truly values talent will spare no expense to attract the best people, and that such sincerity will naturally draw worthy individuals to come forward.
📜 Origin Story
During the Warring States period, King Zhao of Yan ascended the throne and urgently sought talented advisors to strengthen his state. His minister Guo Wei told him a parable: an ancient king offered a thousand gold pieces for a swift horse, but after three years none appeared. When a servant spent five hundred gold to buy the bones of a dead swift horse, people were astonished, and within a year three living swift horses were brought to the king. Guo Wei's point was that if King Zhao showed genuine sincerity in seeking talent, worthy men would flock to him. This story is recorded in the 'Strategies of the Warring States, Yan Strategy I' (《战国策·燕策一》).
💡 Example Usage
这家企业以燕骏千金之诚，广揽天下英才。
This enterprise, with the sincerity of spending a thousand gold on a fine Yan steed, widely recruits talented people from all over the world.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 燕骏千金
- Pinyin: yān jùn qiān jīn
- Literal Translation: Yan, steed, thousand, gold
- Category: Leadership
- Characters: 4