兼听- Chinese philosophy and culture

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jiāntīng 兼听

Listen to Both Sides

广泛听取各种意见。“兼”有俱、同时之义。领导者在决策之前,一定要广泛听取各种意见,综合、吸纳其中的合理部分。它被认为是贤明领导者的基本特质之一。它要求领导者站在公正的立场上,无偏无私,虚怀若谷。这样,各方都能畅所欲言,提出合理建议,而领导者也能集思广益,权衡利弊,从而保障决策的正确和施策的畅通。

It means to listen to diverse points of view. Before making decisions, leaders must listen to all kinds of opinions and synthesize them so as to extract the most sensible arguments. That is deemed a basic characteristic of a wise and worthy leader. To do so, a leader must be fair, impartial, and open-minded. Only in this way can the parties concerned speak their minds and make rational suggestions, which, in turn, will enable a leader to benefit from various ideas, weigh the trade-offs, make correct decisions, and ensure their successful implementation.

引例 Citations:

◎兼听齐明,则天下归之。(《荀子·君道》)

(广泛听取意见,能够敏捷明智,天下人就会拥戴他。)

Listen to both sides and it will make one wise and well-informed, thus ensuring a broad support all over the land. (Xunzi)

◎上问魏征曰:“人主何为而明,何为而暗?”对曰:“兼听则明,偏信则暗。”(《资治通鉴·唐纪八·太宗贞观二年》)

(唐太宗问魏征:“君主怎么做算贤明,怎么做算昏聩?”魏征回答:“广泛听取各种意见就贤明,偏听偏信就昏聩。”)

Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty once asked Wei Zheng, “What behavior will make a king wise or foolish?” Wei Zheng answered, “Listen to all kinds of views will make him wise whereas blindly believing will fool him.” (History as a Mirror)

◎人主以兼听为美,必本至公。(《宋史·陈俊卿传》)

(君主以广泛听取各种意见为美德,而且必定基于最公正的立场。)

Rulers should have the virtue of listening to all kinds of opinions and must be doing so with the utmost impartiality. (The History of the Song Dynasty)

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