📖 Meaning
To put an end to warfare and promote culture and education. It describes a ruler or government transitioning from military campaigns to peacetime governance through literary and scholarly development. It is synonymous with the idiom 偃武修文.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom originates from the Book of Later Han (《后汉书》), in the biography of Du Shi (杜诗), an official of the Eastern Han dynasty. Du Shi memorialized the emperor, stating that after accomplishing the great enterprise, the sovereign should cease military campaigns and promote cultural education, while the generals should return from the field. The phrase reflects the enduring Confucian ideal that once peace is established, a ruler should govern through wen (civil culture) rather than wu (martial force).
💡 Example Usage
天下初定，新君即位后偃兵修文，广设学堂以教化百姓。
With the realm newly pacified, the new emperor ceased military campaigns and promoted culture and education, establishing schools throughout the land to enlighten the people.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 偃兵修文
- Pinyin: yǎn bīng xiū wén
- Literal Translation: cease, weapons, cultivate, culture
- Category: Leadership
- Characters: 4