In the late Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220), a person called Cui Yan was keen on fencing and often practiced martial arts. He began to read books such as The Analectsat the age of 23. However, due to his diligence, he became a person of great learning with outstanding martial arts skills.
Subsequently, he followed Cao Cao, a famous militarist in the Three Kingdoms Period (220-228), giving counsel to him and making great contributions to his learning.
One year, Cao Cao decided to designate his youngest son Cao Zhi as the crown prince.
Cui Yan spoke to Cao Cao, saying, “It has been a custom of designating the eldest son as the crown prince since ancient times. How can you designate Cao Zhi?” Though Cao Zhi was the son-in-law of Cui Yan, Cui didn’t give unprincipled protection to him. Hence, Cao Cao respected him more.
Cui Lin, the younger brother of Cui Yan, didn’t gain any particular accomplishments or win any fine reputation when he was young, so many people thought that he wasn’t promising and even his relatives and friends looked down on him. However, Cui Yan thought highly of him and said to others, “Great talents take time to mature. Give Cui Lin some time!”
Subsequently, Cui Lin was appointed a very important position by the emperor and subsequently acted as minister of public works under Emperor Wendi of the Wei State (220-265).
The story is fromRecordsoftheThre Kingdoms. The idiom refers to the fact that a great talent takes time to mature and others will finally recognize his or her talent.
