📖 Meaning
More producers and fewer consumers. It describes a situation where production exceeds consumption, leading to abundant wealth. The phrase advocates increasing output while reducing expenditure to maintain lasting prosperity.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom originates from the 'Great Learning' chapter of the 'Book of Rites' (礼记·大学), a foundational Confucian text compiled during the Warring States period. The original passage states that there is a great way to generate wealth: let producers be many and consumers few, let workers be diligent and spenders be unhurried, then wealth will always be sufficient. It reflects the Confucian economic philosophy of encouraging productive labor while restraining unnecessary consumption, ensuring the state and household remain financially stable.
💡 Example Usage
这家企业坚持生众食寡的经营原则，财富逐年积累。
This company adheres to the principle of producing more and consuming less, and its wealth accumulates year by year.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 生众食寡
- Pinyin: shēng zhòng shí guǎ
- Literal Translation: produce, many, eat, few
- Category: Philosophy
- Characters: 4