Legend has it that in ancient times, a man named Sun Yang was a great expert on horses. People respectfully called him "Bole," a divine figure from mythology who managed heavenly steeds. Any horse Bole selected would fetch an extremely high price.
One sweltering noon, the legendary horse expert Bole was traveling under a blazing sun. Exhausted and parched, he decided to rest before tackling the steep slope ahead.
Suddenly, he heard heavy, labored breathing ahead. Bole looked up and saw a horse pulling a salt cart struggling up a steep slope. The slope was incredibly steep, and the cart was loaded to the brim with salt.
Bole hurried forward and saw the horse drenched in sweat, its front legs buckling as it knelt to the ground, gasping for air, its bent limbs seemingly too weak to ever rise again.
When Bole approached the horse, a miracle occurred: the horse saw Bole, let out a loud neigh, and kept pressing its neck and face against Bole's.
Bole, a master at spotting talent, immediately recognized this horse as an exceptional steed capable of covering a thousand li in a day, yet he could only watch helplessly as it collapsed from exhaustion, kneeling on the road.
"Bole murmured to himself, 'It should have galloped on the battlefield, it should have served the nation...' He stroked the horse with affection, his heart tightening as tears streamed uncontrollably. He took off his own coat and draped it over the horse."
The horse's large eyes brimmed with tears, as if understanding Bole's deep affection for it. Then it snorted toward the ground several times before suddenly lifting its head and letting out a long, piercing neigh—a sound like bronze bells and stone chimes, resonant and stirring, soaring straight into the clouds. Overcome with emotion, Bole embraced the horse and burst into tears.
Han Yu, the renowned Tang Dynasty writer, once lamented: "Only after a Bole appears can a thousand-li horse be recognized; thousand-li horses are common, but a Bole is rare."
Later, people used "Bole Appraising Horses" as a metaphor for being skilled at recognizing and cherishing talent.
Source: *Strategies of the Warring States*, Chapter "Strategies of Chu IV"
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "伯乐相马" came to describe being skilled at recognizing and cherishing talent.