Situational Character Tests / 五观识人法

Situational character tests / 五观识人法 is the personnel-judgment framework 李克 gives 魏文侯 in 《资治通鉴·周纪》06丨魏文侯选谁当宰相呢（1）. Instead of naming 魏成 or 翟黄 directly, Li Ke tells the ruler to observe people across changing circumstances.

The five tests are: whom a person is close to in ordinary life, whom they associate with after becoming wealthy, whom they recommend after gaining office, what they refuse to do when trapped, and what they refuse to take when poor. The episode stresses that “穷” and “贫” are not the same here: one concerns being cornered or at an endpoint, while the other concerns material poverty.

The concept’s value is that it makes character observable without reducing it to a single reputation label. It connects relationship choice, resource use, promotion behavior, duress, and temptation, then lets the ruler infer which candidate better fits the role.

Key Claims

• Personnel judgment should observe behavior across ordinary, wealthy, promoted, desperate, and poor conditions.
• Recommendations after promotion reveal what kinds of people a candidate brings into power.
• Refusals under pressure matter because they expose limits and bottom lines.
• The framework supports Talent Referral Quality / 荐才层级质量 by asking not only whether someone recommends others, but who those recommended people are.

Connections

• 李克, 魏文侯, 魏成, and 翟黄 - source case.
• Talent Referral Quality / 荐才层级质量 - adjacent concept built from the outcome.
• Talent-Virtue Distinction / 才德之分 and Use Strengths Over Faults / 用人取长弃短 - neighboring talent-judgment frames in the Ruiqi branch.
• 战国时期 - competitive setting.