Perfectly1 impartial2
During the Spring and Autumn Period , a very noble official caled Qi Huangyang lived in the State of Jin. One day, the king summoned him to court and asked, Now that the magistrate3 position of Nanyang county is vacant, who do you think is suitable for the post?
Xie Hu is the right man for the job, Qi replied without hesitation4.
Surprised, the king asked, Did you say Xie Hu? I thought he's your enemy. Why did you recommend him to take such an important position?
Smiling, Qi Huangyang said, Your Majesty5 didn't ask me my personal opinions o Xie Hu. You simply asked me who I thought would be competent for the position. Therefore I recommended Xie Hu.
the king followed Qi's advice and made Xie Hu magistrate of Nanyang county. And sure enough, Xie Hu administered the county very well and won respect from local people and his colleagues.
Some days later, the king again asked Qi Huangyang for his opinions. This time, the king was trying to find a suitable candidate for a court judge position. Qi Huangyiang recommended Qi Wu for the job. once again, the king was surprised again by the recommendation because Qi Wu was the son of Qi Huangyang. The king asked: Who do you recommend your son? Aren't you afraid people will gossip?
Qi Huangyang replied, Your Majesty, you asked me who was the most capable person for the position of a judge, and I think Qi Wu is.
Although the king was a bit hesitant about making Qi Wu the judge, he nevertheless gave him the position. As it turned out, Qi Wu was an upright and talented judge, who people GREatly respected.
Qi Huangyang's actions were praised by Confucius who said, Qi Huangyang was right. He recommended people according to their abilities and talents, not because of personal sentiments， not because of fearing others' gossip. Therefore, people like Qi Huangyang are referred to as people without selfish motives6.
From Confucious' comment came the idiom Unselfish. Anyone who handles affairs fairly and impartially7 can be described as Unselfish; Perfectly impartial.
大公无私
春秋时，晋国有位品格特别高尚的大臣祁黄羊。有一次，晋王召祁黄羊入宫问他：南阳县缺个县令，你看，应该派哪个去当做合适呢？」祁黄羊毫不迟疑地回答说：解狐去，比较合适了。平公惊奇的问他：你是说解狐？ 他不是你的仇人吗？你为何还要推荐他担任这么要紧的职位？
祁黄羊笑着说：陛下只问我什么人可以胜任这个职位，并没问我对解狐的个人怎么看呀！因此我推荐解狐。于是，晋王采纳了他的建议，派解狐到南阳县去上任了。当然，解狐到任后，治理有方，他的同僚和当地百姓都尊敬他。
过了一些日子，平公又向祁黄羊征求建议。这回，晋王想找个适合的人选担任朝廷法官。祁黄羊推荐了祁午。平公又奇怪起来了，由于祁午是祁黄羊的儿子。他问道：你如何推荐你的儿子，不怕其他人讲闲话吗？祁黄羊说：陛下只问我哪个最是适合的，我觉得祁午是。
尽管晋王还有的犹豫，他还是派了祁午去做法官。事实证明，祁午是个正直，有才能的法官，非常受大家的爱戴。孔子听说这两件事，十分称赞祁黄羊。孔子说: 祁黄羊是对的。他推荐人，完全是以才能做标准，不由于个人偏见，便不推荐他；也不由于怕人议论，便不推荐。像黄祁羊如此的人，才够得上说大公无私啦！
大公无私这个成语就是由孔子的评论而来的，用来形容那些公正无私处置事物的人。
