📖 Meaning
By rewarding one person's exemplary conduct, you encourage many others to emulate it. It describes a leadership method of using targeted positive reinforcement to motivate the broader group. The principle is that a single well-chosen reward can shape collective behavior.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase comes from "Wenzhong Zi: On Destiny" (《文中子·立命》), a work attributed to Wang Tong (王通) of the Sui Dynasty. The full line reads, "赏一以劝百，罚一以惩众" — reward one to encourage a hundred, punish one to chastise the many. It articulates a classical governance philosophy of using carefully selected incentives and penalties to steer the behavior of the populace. The text emphasizes that leaders need not reward or punish everyone; a single well-placed example suffices to set the tone.
💡 Example Usage
公司决定重奖这位优秀员工，赏一劝百，激励全体同事努力工作。
The company decided to handsomely reward this outstanding employee, so that rewarding one would encourage a hundred and motivate all colleagues to work harder.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 赏一劝百
- Pinyin: shǎng yī quàn bǎi
- Literal Translation: reward, one, encourage, hundred
- Category: Leadership
- Characters: 4