📖 Meaning
To regard the suffering of the people as one's own doing and the alleviation of their pain as one's inescapable responsibility. It expresses a deep sense of moral duty toward those who suffer, treating their hardship as a personal failing.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase originates from the Mencius (《孟子·离娄下》), which recounts how the legendary sage-kings Yu and Ji viewed the suffering of the people. Yu thought that if anyone in the world drowned, it was as if he himself had drowned them; Ji thought that if anyone starved, it was as if he himself had starved them. This profound sense of responsibility drove them to act with great urgency to relieve the people's hardship.
💡 Example Usage
为政者当怀己溺己饥之心，方能体察民情、解民倒悬。
Those who govern should bear a heart that treats the people's drowning and starvation as their own, so they can truly understand the people's plight and rescue them from suffering.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 己溺己饥
- Pinyin: jǐ nì jǐ jī
- Literal Translation: oneself, drown, oneself, starve
- Category: Leadership
- Characters: 4