Appoint People Only on Their Merits

只任用德才兼備或出眾的人擔任官職或賦予其某種職權，即用人只以德才為標準，而不論其與自己親疏遠近。“唯”，只。“賢”，指德才兼備或出眾的人，是古人所推崇的一種理想人格。只有德才兼備或出眾的人才能切實踐行、維護各種社會規范，引領社會發展。選拔、任用德才兼備或出眾的人，讓他們在國家治理中充分發揮作用，這是實現良好治理狀態的重要條件或根本保障。它是中國古人所推崇和秉持的共通的用人原則，迄今仍被作為選拔、培養、使用和管理干部的基本準則。

Appoint a person to office or position based solely on merit or outstanding ability. In other words, the criteria for giving authority to a person do not involve any kind of personal relationship. Wei (唯) means "solely," and xian (賢) means a combination of ability and moral rectitude, an ideal much sought after by the ancients. Those with these qualities are able to observe and uphold social norms and be leaders of social progress. To appoint such wise and capable people to positions of power is the basis and guarantee of good governance. Such qualities, much revered in ancient times, continue to be the basic standards for selecting, training, managing and appointing public officials today.

引例 Citations：

◎任官惟賢材，左右惟其人。（《尚書·咸有一德》）

任命官員只任用德才兼備的人，身邊大臣也應是忠良之人。

Only those who are both capable and upright should be appointed to official positions. High officials around the ruler should be such loyal and moral people. (The Book of History)

◎建官惟賢，位事惟能。（《尚書·武成》）

建立官職只任用有德才的人，安排吏事只選用有能力的人。

Official positions should only be filled by the moral and the upright. Official affairs should only be dealt with by those who are capable. (The Book of History)

◎古者以天下為公，唯賢是與。（《三國志·魏書·三少帝紀》）

在古時候，人們把天下看成是天下人共有之物，只推舉德才兼備的人來治理。

In ancient times, it was believed that everything in the country belonged to all the people, so only the upright and capable should govern. (The History of the Three Kingdoms)

推薦：教育部 國家語委

供稿：北京外國語大學 外語教學與研究出版社

責任編輯：錢耐安