The state takes the people as its foundation, the people take food as their heaven; grain security cannot be overlooked.
Tips
history
Drawn from the classical 民本 (mín běn, 'people as root') tradition articulated in 《尚书·五子之歌》: 民惟邦本，本固邦宁 ('the people are the root of the state; when the root is firm the state is at peace'). The formulation 国以民为本 was crystallized in later dynastic memorials and is now standard rhetoric in Chinese political speech.
usage
Usually quoted in a parallel pair with 民以食为天 ('the people take food as their heaven'), or alongside 以人为本 ('put people first'), the modern policy slogan derived from the same tradition.
