📖 Meaning
Refers to the prevailing social customs and the moral sentiments of the people. It captures the overall ethical and cultural climate of a society at a given time, reflecting both public mores and individual conscience.
📜 Origin Story
This expression does not originate from a single classical text but is a compound of two long-standing concepts: 世道 (the ways of the world, the state of society) and 人心 (the human heart, people's intentions). Both terms appear throughout pre-modern Chinese literature, often together, to lament or assess the moral condition of an era. Writers such as Lu Xun frequently invoked the phrase in modern essays to critique the spiritual state of contemporary society. It remains a common phrase in literary and public discourse when weighing the health of public morals.
💡 Example Usage
优秀的文学作品应当关怀世道人心，而非一味迎合市场。
Outstanding literature should care about the moral climate and people's hearts, rather than blindly catering to the market.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 世道人心
- Pinyin: shì dào rén xīn
- Literal Translation: world, way, people's, heart
- Category: Morality
- Characters: 4