📖 Meaning
To make far-sighted plans and provisions for the welfare of one's descendants and future generations. It describes a person — especially a ruler or elder — who makes careful, long-term arrangements so that posterity will be secure. The idiom praises foresight, prudence, and a sense of responsibility toward those who come after.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom derives from the Book of Songs (《诗经》), in the ode '文王有声' (The Fame of King Wen) of the Greater Odes (大雅), which celebrates King Wen, founder of the Zhou dynasty (c. 11th century BCE). The line reads '诒厥孙谋，以燕翼子' — 'he bequeathed his plans to his descendants, to bring peace and protection to his children' — where 诒 is a variant form of 贻. A related phrasing, '有典有则，贻厥子孙', appears in the 'Songs of the Five Sons' (五子之歌) chapter of the Book of Documents (《尚书》), in which the five sons of the Xia ruler Taikang recall the exemplary model left by their ancestor Yu the Great. Over time the phrase became a set idiom meaning to make far-sighted arrangements for one's descendants.
💡 Example Usage
他在位时便贻厥孙谋，为子孙后代铺平道路。
While still in power, he made far-sighted plans for his descendants and paved the way for later generations.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 贻厥孙谋
- Pinyin: yí jué sūn móu
- Literal Translation: to leave behind, one's, descendants, plans
- Category: Leadership
- Characters: 4