In 570 BC, Qi Xi of Jin asked to retire. The duke asked him who should succeed him. Qi Xi named Xie Hu, his personal enemy, but Xie Hu died before he could be appointed. Asked again, Qi Xi said: “Wu will do.” Qi Wu was his son. (Zuo Zhuan)
The Zuo Zhuan praises him: “He named his enemy, and it was not flattery. He put forward his son, and it was not favoritism.” He is remembered with the saying 内举不避亲，外举不避仇, “in recommending insiders, he did not avoid kin. In recommending outsiders, he did not avoid enemies.”