The State of Jin was plagued by a proliferation of thieves. There was a man named Xi Yong who could determine whether a person was a thief by reading their facial features. The Marquis of Jin had him examine the populace for thieves, and among hundreds of people, not a single thief would escape his detection.
Overjoyed, the Marquis said to Zhao Wenzi, “With this one man, I can rid the entire state of thieves—why should I need so many others?” Zhao Wenzi replied, ‘Your Highness relies on surveillance to apprehend thieves; not only will the thieves never be completely eradicated, but Xi Yong is bound to meet a violent end.’
Before long, a group of thieves conspired, saying, ‘It is this Xi Yong who has driven us into a corner.’ They therefore captured him and brutally murdered him.
Upon hearing this, the Duke of Jin was greatly alarmed. He immediately summoned Zhao Wenzi and said to him, ‘It has indeed turned out as you said; Xi Yong is dead. But what method should we use to deal with the thieves?’
Zhao Wenzi replied, ‘There is a proverb from the Zhou dynasty which says: “He who can see fish swimming in the depths of an abyss is ill-fated; he who can discern what lies hidden in his heart is doomed to calamity.” Moreover, if Your Highness wishes to eliminate thieves, the best course is to select and appoint capable and virtuous men. When a ruler is enlightened, the people are inspired; when the common folk possess a sense of shame, who would then resort to thievery?”
Thereupon, the Marquis of Jin appointed a capable man named Sui Hui to oversee the administration of state affairs, and all the thieves fled to the State of Qin.
Origin: “Liezi – Shuo Fu”
#48 如何消除盗乱
晋国苦于小偷太多。有一个叫郗雍的人，能通过看相判断一个人是不是小偷。晋侯叫他去查看小偷，千百人中不会遗漏一个。
晋侯大为高兴，告诉赵文子说：“我得到一个人，全国的小偷都没有了，何必用那么多人呢？” 赵文子说：“您依仗窥伺观察而抓到小偷，小偷不但清除不尽，而且郗雍一定会死于非命。”
不久一群小偷商量说：“我们走投无路的原因，就是这个郗雍。” 于是共同抓获并残杀了他。
晋侯听说后大为惊骇，立刻召见赵文子，告诉他说：“果然像你所说的那样，郗雍死了。但收拾小偷用什么方法呢？”
赵文子说：“周有谚语说：’眼睛能看到深渊中游鱼的人不吉祥，心灵能估料到隐藏着的东西的人有灾殃。’况且您要想没有小偷，最好的办法是选拔贤能的人并重用他们，统治者开明，百姓受感化，老百姓有羞耻之心，那还有谁去做小偷呢？”
于是晋王任用一个叫随会的贤人主持政事，而所有的小偷都跑到秦国去了。
出自《列子·说符》