忧国不谋身

憂國不謀身

yōu guó bù móu shēn

quotation

Meanings

1 to worry for the state without scheming for oneself
2 to care for the nation and put aside personal interests
3 ideal of the selfless Confucian official

Characters

Examples

HSK 7-9

古代忠臣往往忧国不谋身。

Gǔdài zhōngchén wǎngwǎng yōuguóbùmóushēn.

Loyal ministers of old often worried for the state without scheming for themselves.

HSK 7-9

他一生忧国不谋身，深受百姓敬重。

Tā yìshēng yōuguóbùmóushēn, shēnshòu bǎixìng jìngzhòng.

All his life he worried for the country and sought no private gain - deeply respected by the people.

Tips

history

From Han Yu's (韩愈) mid-Tang poem: 忧国不谋身，唯叹无名位 - 'Worried for the state and scheming not for myself - I sigh only that I hold no title.' The ideal it expresses runs through the entire scholar-official tradition, echoed later by figures like Fan Zhongyan's 先天下之忧而忧.

usage

Formal and classical, used in essays and editorials about public service. 谋身 = to scheme for one's own advancement. Contrasts sharply with modern cynicism about self-interested officials.

Stroke Order

忧 yōu

国 guó

不 bù

谋 móu

身 shēn