A Sparse Harvest: Confucius on the Perennial Scarcity of True Talent

Confucius reflected: “Is it not true that talent is hard to find? Even at its peak, there were only nine such men.”

Is not the saying that talents are difficult to find, true?
Only when the dynasties of Tang and Yu met, were they more abundant than in this of Zhou,
yet there was a woman among them. The able ministers were no more than nine men.

才难,不其然乎?
唐虞之际,于斯为盛。
有妇人焉,九人而已。

Source: The Analects, Tai Bo VIII, Chapter 20

Author: Confucius

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