不问苍生问鬼神

不問蒼生問鬼神

búwèncāngshēngwènguǐshén

phrase

Meanings

1 not asking about the common people but about gods and ghosts
2 a ruler who neglects the welfare of his subjects to chase superstition (literally)

Characters

dark blue-green; vast

living beings; people

Examples

李商隐讽刺皇帝‘不问苍生问鬼神’。

Lǐ Shāngyǐn fěngcì huángdì ‘bú wèn cāngshēng wèn guǐshén’.

Li Shangyin satirised the emperor for ‘not asking about the people but about ghosts and spirits.’

领导只关心排场，不管员工，真是不问苍生问鬼神。

Lǐngdǎo zhǐ guānxīn páichǎng, bùguǎn yuángōng, zhēn shì bú wèn cāngshēng wèn guǐshén.

The boss only cares about appearances and ignores the staff — truly not asking about the people but about ghosts.

Tips

history

From Li Shangyin 李商隐's Tang 《贾生》: ‘可怜夜半虚前席，不问苍生问鬼神。’ (Pitiful that at midnight he moved his mat forward in vain — he asked not about the people but about ghosts and gods.) A sharp indictment of Emperor Wen of Han, who summoned the talented Jia Yi 贾谊 only to question him about spirits.

usage

苍生 (cāngshēng) = the common people / ‘the multitude.’ The phrase is now a stock criticism of leaders who prioritise the trivial or supernatural over real governance.

Stroke Order

不 bù

问 wèn

苍 cāng

生 shēng

鬼 guǐ

神 shén