《史记·七十列传·儒林列传》
由于世道混乱污浊，无人起用他，因此孔子周游列国向七十几位国君求官都得不到知遇。他感慨地说： 要是有人肯用我，只需一年就可以治理好国政了。 
世以混浊莫能用，是以仲尼干七十馀君无所遇，曰 苟有用我者，期月而已矣 。
Because of his social chaos, no one hired him, so Confucius traveled around and sought official posts under seventy dukes, but he was not appreciated. He sighed and said: If someone would use me, I could govern the country within a year.