📖 Meaning
To employ both favor and honor as complementary means of governance. It describes a strategy where kindness and prestige are used in balance to manage people effectively. The idiom emphasizes that rewards of title and grace must work together to maintain proper order.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase originates from Chapter 65 of 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms' (三国演义) by the Ming dynasty novelist Luo Guanzhong. In the passage, it is advised to constrain subordinates with noble titles—when titles are conferred, people understand honor—and that favor and glory should be applied together so that proper hierarchy is maintained between superiors and subordinates. This is presented as the fundamental principle of good governance.
💡 Example Usage
治理一方百姓，须恩荣并济，方能令行禁止。
To govern the people well, one must employ both grace and honor in balance so that orders are followed and prohibitions enforced.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 恩荣并济
- Pinyin: ēn róng bìng jì
- Literal Translation: grace, glory, together, regulate
- Category: Leadership
- Characters: 4