Chinese idiom - 民不聊生

mín民bù不liáo聊shēng生

The common people are in such extreme poverty and distress that they can hardly make a living or sustain themselves.

连年的自然灾害导致庄稼歉收，村子里的人们渐渐民不聊生。

Consecutive years of natural disasters resulted in poor harvests, and the villagers gradually found themselves in extreme destitution, unable to make a living.

Era:

Ancient

Frequency:

Synonym:

民穷财尽

Antonym:

丰衣足食

Story:

Towards the end of the Warring States period, King Zhaoxiang of Qin dispatched General Bai Qi to attack the states of Han and Wei. Bai Qi annihilated their combined forces of 240,000 soldiers.

After this, Qin intended to attack the state of Chu, pretending to reconcile with Han and Wei.

Huang Xie, a noble from Chu, submitted a memorial to King Zhaoxiang, stating: 'You have brought such misery upon the people of Han and Wei that they are unable to live, and they hate you the most. If you were to borrow a path through Han and Wei to attack Chu, what would happen if their armies turned against you?'

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