苟变 / Gou Bian

苟变 / Gou Bian appears in Zhouji 09 as the talented military figure whom 子思 recommends to the ruler of 魏国. The source says Zisi considers him capable of commanding five hundred chariots.

The ruler hesitates because Gou Bian had once taken two eggs from a household while serving in a low-level tax role. Zisi argues that a state in wartime should use a person’s strengths and discard lesser faults, turning Gou Bian into the episode’s concrete case for Use Strengths Over Faults / 用人取长弃短.

Connections

• 子思 - recommender and interpreter of his usefulness.
• 魏国 and 魏武侯 - political-military setting.
• Use Strengths Over Faults / 用人取长弃短 - concept drawn from the episode’s handling of Gou Bian.
• 战国时期 - wartime context that raises the cost of wasting capable commanders.