📖 Meaning
Farmers in the fields and elders of the countryside. It broadly refers to ordinary common folk living in rural areas, far from the centers of power and wealth.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom is a descriptive compound rather than one drawn from a single classical anecdote. '田夫' refers to farmers laboring in the fields, while '野老' denotes elderly people dwelling in remote rural regions. Together the phrase evokes the image of humble villagers living simple, rustic lives away from court and city. Classical Chinese literature frequently used such pairings to refer to the common people, often in contrast to officials, scholars, or the nobility. The term underscores the social distance between the governing elite and the grassroots populace.
💡 Example Usage
这些政策能否惠及田夫野老，才是衡量其好坏的标准。
Whether these policies truly benefit the ordinary rural folk is the real measure of their worth.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 田夫野老
- Pinyin: tián fū yě lǎo
- Literal Translation: field, farmer, wild, old
- Category: Status
- Characters: 4