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为富不仁，为仁不富

為富不仁，為仁不富
wéifùbùrén,wéirénbùfù
idiom

Meanings

  1. 1 the rich are not benevolent, and the benevolent are not rich
  2. 2 (Mencius) wealth and kindness rarely go together

Examples

古人说为富不仁，为仁不富，反映了贫富与道德的紧张关系。
Gǔrén shuō wéifùbùrén, wéirénbùfù, fǎnyìng le pínfù yǔ dàodé de jǐnzhāng guānxì.
The ancient saying 'the rich aren't kind and the kind aren't rich' reflects the tension between wealth and morality.
他常引用为富不仁，为仁不富来批评社会现象。
Tā cháng yǐnyòng wéifùbùrén, wéirénbùfù lái pīpíng shèhuì xiànxiàng.
He often quotes 'the rich aren't kind and the kind aren't rich' to criticize social phenomena.

Tips

history
From 孟子·滕文公上 (Mèngzǐ · Téng Wén Gōng shàng): 阳虎曰：『为富不仁矣，为仁不富矣。』 — Mencius quotes the minister Yang Hu making the observation. Used in classical political philosophy to argue that the pursuit of wealth and the pursuit of virtue tend to be in tension. The first half 为富不仁 (wéifùbùrén) circulates as a standalone four-character idiom much more often than the full pair.
usage
Often used as social critique. The shorter half 为富不仁 is far more common in everyday speech; the full version is reserved for essays, classical references, and rhetorical effect.

Stroke Order

为 wèi
富 fù
不 bù
仁 rén