📖 Meaning
Refers to people who have no ability to work and no relatives to provide for them—widowers, widows, orphans, and those without siblings. It describes the most vulnerable and destitute members of society who lack any form of family support or social safety net.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom comes from a Tang Dynasty imperial edict written by the statesman and scholar Lu Zhi (陆贽, 754–805 CE). In his 'Decree Granting Seeds and Relief to the Poor in the Capital Region and Tonghua Prefectures' (《赐京畿及同华等州百姓种子赈给贫人诏》), he ordered that relief aid be distributed first to '鳏寡孤茕'—those who were widowed, orphaned, or without siblings and had no means of immediate survival. The phrase is synonymous with the more common '鳏寡孤独', which appears in earlier classical texts such as the Book of Rites (《礼记》).
💡 Example Usage
灾后官府设立粥棚，鳏寡孤茕可优先领取口粮。
After the disaster, the authorities set up porridge stations, and widowers, widows, orphans, and the solitary could receive rations first.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 鳏寡孤茕
- Pinyin: guān guǎ gū qióng
- Literal Translation: widower, widow, orphan, solitary
- Category: Condition
- Characters: 4