In 141 BC, after the death of Emperor Jing of Han at age 48, his son Liu Che ascended the throne as Emperor Wu of Han.
Upon ascending the throne, Emperor Wu of Han issued an edict commanding all feudal princes and provincial officials to recommend worthy and virtuous scholars to him. Among the many talents presented, Dong Zhongshu stood out as one of the most renowned.
Emperor Wu of Han personally examined talents recommended from across the empire, ordering each to write an essay on governing the realm. He read every submission himself, finding most mediocre—except for Dong Zhongshu's, which was the finest and most aligned with his vision.
Emperor Wu of Han then summoned Dong Zhongshu. Dong Zhongshu spoke freely before the emperor, saying, "A wise ruler governs the realm not through punishment but through benevolence, using righteousness, ritual, and music to educate the people, so that righteous energy rises and evil energy is suppressed, and the common people will not break the law or rebel. The court must select talented individuals of all kinds and assign them according to their abilities. To cultivate such talents, schools must be established, and a unified theory is needed to educate the people—that theory is Confucianism. All other doctrines should be banned."
Emperor Wu of Han adopted Dong Zhongshu's proposal to "revere only Confucianism and abolish all other schools," thus establishing Confucian doctrine as the orthodox ideology of China's feudal society for nearly two thousand years. Later, the idiom "hire based on talent" came to mean assigning appropriate work according to one's abilities and knowledge.
Source: *Book of Han*, "Biography of Dong Zhongshu"
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "量才录用" came to describe assigning appropriate work according to one's abilities and knowledge.