📖 Meaning
To promote the virtuous and capable while dismissing the foolish and incompetent. It describes a governance principle of selecting people based on merit and character rather than favoritism.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom has no single recorded origin story but reflects a core principle of classical Chinese political thought rooted in Confucian ideals about merit-based governance. The concept of advancing the worthy and removing the inept appears throughout Chinese historical and philosophical texts as advice to rulers and leaders. It encapsulates the long-standing belief that good governance depends on properly evaluating and appointing talent.
💡 Example Usage
公司要长远发展，必须做到进贤退愚，才能留住真正的人才。
For the company to develop in the long run, it must promote the capable and dismiss the incompetent in order to retain genuine talent.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 进贤退愚
- Pinyin: jìn xián tuì yú
- Literal Translation: advance, worthy, retire, foolish
- Category: Leadership
- Characters: 4