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无恒产者无恒心

無恆產者無恆心
wúhéngchǎnzhěwúhéngxīn
phrase

Meanings

  1. 1 those without steady livelihood have no steady heart
  2. 2 (fig.) economic security is the precondition of moral stability — a foundational Confucian-Mencian principle
  3. 3 (lit.) no steady-property those no steady-heart

Examples

无恒产者无恒心，解决温饱才能谈教化。
Wú héngchǎn zhě wú héngxīn, jiějué wēnbǎo cái néng tán jiàohuà.
'Those without a steady livelihood have no steady heart' — solve subsistence first, then speak of moral education.
孟子那句无恒产者无恒心，至今还是治国之道。
Mèngzǐ nà jù wú héngchǎn zhě wú héngxīn, zhìjīn háishì zhìguó zhī dào.
Mencius's line 'no steady livelihood, no steady heart' is still the way of governance today.

Tips

history
From 《孟子·梁惠王上》and 《滕文公上》(Mencius, ~4th c. BCE). The full passage distinguishes scholars from commoners: 无恒产而有恒心者，惟士为能。若民，则无恒产，因无恒心 (To have no steady property yet keep a steady heart — only the scholar-gentleman can do this. As for the common people, without steady property, they will be without steady heart). Mencius uses this to argue for 井田制 (the 'well-field' land-tenure system) as the material basis of benevolent government.
usage
恒 = 'constant / enduring' (恒产 = a steady livelihood; 恒心 = constancy of heart). 者 is the classical agent marker ('the one who'). Often cited in debates on welfare, housing, and social stability.

Stroke Order

无 wú
恒 héng
产 chǎn
者 zhě
心 xīn