small territory and population(xiǎo guó guǎ mín)

small territory and population

A small country with few people, pronounced Xi ǎ Ogu ó Gu ǎ m í n, is an idiom, which means that the government is small and it is not easy to serve the people.

explain

It means that the government is small and does not serve the people easily. A small country has few people.

source

Chapter 80 of Lao Tzu: "a small country with few people, so that you can use all kinds of tools instead of using them, so that the people will die and not move far away." However, it is not enough to reason about a small country with few people. What if it is the most important thing in the world? (notes on jingzhentang by Lu You in Song Dynasty)

Source text

A small country with few people enables the people to have the tools of Shi Bo instead of using them, and causes the people to die and not move far away. Although there are boats, there is no place to take them; although there are armour soldiers, there is no place to show them; they can be used to tie ropes for the people. Sweet food, beautiful clothing, comfortable living, happy customs. Neighbors face each other, chickens and dogs hear each other, people do not communicate with each other until old age and death.

translation

To govern a country with small land and few people, we must first cherish the people. In this way, people are not used as slaves or armed to fight. In this way, even if there are all kinds of instruments, they can not be used. So that the people will pay attention to their own lives and will not leave their homes and move far away. Even if there are boats and cars, there is no place to take it, because no one has to go far away to seek refuge. Even if there are armor and weapons, there is no place to display it. Because no one uses it to fight or consume it. Let the people restore their innocent and good nature. The country is prosperous and the people are strong. Everyone is indifferent, so that the people have a sweet and delicious diet, gorgeous clothes, comfortable residence and happy customs. Even though the two peoples get along very closely and have close contacts with each other, even the sounds of chickens and dogs are mixed together, there is no war and friction. Daodejing is a Book of ancient Chinese quotation style. Chapter 80 of Tao Te Ching is designed for small countries and provides a solution for small countries. But it is more for big countries, such as "Tao Te Ching" 60 chapters governing big countries. Then there are several chapters for the great powers. Tao Te Ching talks not only about small countries, but also about big countries. Lao Tzu, a small country and a big country, has provided solutions.

Interpretation of works

As for the explanation of "a small country with few people" (Chapter 80), modern scholars generally understand Laozi's "a small country with few people" as the real meaning, that is, a small country with few people. The Duke of Heshang in Qin and Han Dynasties didn't think so. He explained: "although the sage ruled a big country, he thought it was small. He showed frugality, not extravagance and Thailand. Although the people are numerous, they are still few and dare not work. " That is to say, "a small country with few people" does not really mean that it is a small country with few people, but a large country with many people. There are many different interpretations of the so-called "Shi Bo's tools" to make people have Shi Bo's tools instead of using them. He Shanggong divided this article into two sentences, which read "let the people have what they want, but not what they want.". Its annotation is: "let the people have their own tribes, the noble and the humble do not offend each other", and "utensils are the utensils of farmers. Those who do not use it will not be called up to seize the good time of the people. Laozi thought that the rulers should be quiet and not disturb the people.

Discrimination of words

Xggm [usage] as object and attribute; refers to a small country

Chinese PinYin : xiǎo guó guǎ mín