📖 Meaning
To treat the common people with the same tender care as one would treat the sick or wounded. It describes a ruler or official who governs with deep compassion and empathy for the people's suffering, prioritizing their welfare above all else.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom is a variant of '视民如伤' (shì mín rú shāng), which first appears in the Zuo Zhuan (左传), a landmark historical chronicle of the Spring and Autumn period. In the first year of Duke Ai of Lu's reign, the Chu official Zixi (子西) remarked that a virtuous ruler regards the people as if they were wounded, never daring to burden them lightly. The phrase later became a hallmark of Confucian benevolent governance. '视下如伤' substitutes '下' (those below) for '民' (the people), broadening the scope to all subordinates or the governed while preserving the same compassionate ideal.
💡 Example Usage
一县之主当视下如伤，岂能不顾百姓死活？
The head of a county should treat the people as if they were wounded — how could he disregard their very survival?
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 视下如伤
- Pinyin: shì xià rú shāng
- Literal Translation: regard, those below, as, wounded
- Category: Leadership
- Characters: 4