📖 Meaning
To enrich the people and multiply the wealth of the state. It describes a ruler's fundamental duty to make the populace prosperous and resources abundant, reflecting the Confucian ideal of benevolent governance. The idiom also appears in the variant forms '民殷财阜' and '殷民阜利'.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom originates from the Han dynasty work 'Fayan' (Words of Wisdom) by the philosopher Yang Xiong (扬雄), in the chapter 'Xiaozhi' (On Filial Piety to the Utmost). Yang Xiong wrote that a ruler's foremost duty is to enrich the people and multiply wealth, while also illuminating the Way and establishing righteousness. The phrase embodies the classical Confucian principle that a ruler's legitimacy rests on the material well-being of the common people. It has been preserved through the centuries as a standard expression of sound economic and political governance.
💡 Example Usage
为政者当以殷民阜财为本，使百姓富足安乐。
Those who govern should take enriching the people and multiplying wealth as their foundation, so that the common people may become prosperous and content.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 殷民阜财
- Pinyin: yīn mín fù cái
- Literal Translation: abundant, people, plentiful, wealth
- Category: Leadership
- Characters: 4