







燕昭市骏 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to demonstrate great sincerity and eagerness in seeking and attracting talented individuals, often by starting with a gesture of respect or appreciation for even a seemingly less significant contribution, thereby encouraging more capable people to come forward”. Literally, “Yan Zhao buys a swift horse in the market”.
During the Warring States period, after King Zhao of Yan ascended to the throne, he was eager to strengthen his kingdom by recruiting talented individuals.
Guo Wei advised him, using an analogy of a swift horse. He told the king that an ancient monarch once offered a thousand gold pieces to buy a swift horse. Three years passed, and he only managed to acquire a dead swift horse. However, the monarch still bought its bones for five hundred gold pieces. As a result, within less than a year, three living swift horses were brought to him.
Guo Wei used this story to persuade King Zhao that if he could sincerely seek and value worthy individuals, talented scholars would come from far and wide.

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Open the tool →燕昭市骏 (yān zhāo shì jùn) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to demonstrate great sincerity and eagerness in seeking and attracting talented individuals, often by starting with a gesture of respect or appreciation for even a seemingly less significant contribution, thereby encouraging more capable people to come forward”.
燕昭市骏 is pronounced yān zhāo shì jùn in Mandarin Chinese.
Literally, 燕昭市骏 means “Yan Zhao buys a swift horse in the market”. It is used to mean “to demonstrate great sincerity and eagerness in seeking and attracting talented individuals, often by starting with a gesture of respect or appreciation for even a seemingly less significant contribution, thereby encouraging more capable people to come forward”.
燕昭市骏 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
指战国时郭隗以古代君王悬赏千金买千里马为喻,劝说燕昭王真心求贤的事。