📖 Meaning
To enrich both the nation and its people through sound governance or economic policy. It describes measures that bring prosperity to the state and welfare to the populace simultaneously.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase appears in a poem by the modern Chinese poet Liu Dabai (刘大白), titled '龟——为任君茂梧题画' (Turtle — Inscribed on a Painting for Ren Maowu). In it the poet mockingly addresses a bloated figure: 'Your belly swells like a god of wealth, yet you possess not a single coin — what talk is this of enriching the nation and benefiting the people?' The idiom itself draws on a long classical ideal of benevolent rule shared across Chinese dynasties.
💡 Example Usage
改革开放是富国裕民的根本之路。
Reform and opening up is the fundamental path to enriching the nation and benefiting the people.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 富国裕民
- Pinyin: fù guó yù mín
- Literal Translation: enrich, country, make abundant, people
- Category: Leadership
- Characters: 4