📖 Meaning
To have a full belly and live in harmony with others. It describes a state of peaceful prosperity and contentment where people are well-fed and joyful. The idiom evokes an ideal society of abundance and tranquility.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase appears in the essay 'Zhuke Pingyi' (主客平议) by the late Qing dynasty thinker and translator Yan Fu (严复). Yan Fu used it to describe the idealized life of people in a prosperous age, where harvests were bountiful, people ate their fill, and lived together in concord without the troubles of overpopulation or excessive wealth. The imagery draws on the classical motif of common people drumming their bellies in contentment, a symbol of good governance dating back to ancient times.
💡 Example Usage
盛世之中，百姓鼓腹含和，共享太平之福。
In this prosperous age, the common people eat their fill and live in harmony, sharing the blessings of peace.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 鼓腹含和
- Pinyin: gǔ fù hán hé
- Literal Translation: drum, belly, contain, harmony
- Category: Lifestyle
- Characters: 4