鳏寡孤独 — “Widowers, widows, orphans, and the childless elderly”
鳏寡孤独 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “Widowers, widows, orphans, and the childless elderly”. A collective term for the vulnerable and unsupported members of society. Literally, “widowers, widows, orphans, and the childless elderly”.
鳏寡孤独 Pronunciation and Pinyin
鳏寡孤独 Character Breakdown
Stroke OrderExample Sentence with 鳏寡孤独
Origin and Story of 鳏寡孤独
During the Warring States period, someone suggested to King Xuan of Qi that he should demolish the Mingtang (Hall of Light), a place where the Son of Heaven traditionally received feudal lords. King Xuan sought Mencius's opinion on this matter.
Mencius advised that if the king truly wished to practice humane governance (Wangzheng), he should not destroy the Mingtang. He explained that King Wen of Zhou succeeded in unifying the land by implementing benevolent rule, which included not only favoring officials but also extending special care to the most vulnerable: widowers, widows, orphans, and the childless elderly.
King Xuan found Mencius's words to be sound and reasonable.
Idioms Related to 鳏寡孤独
Synonyms of 鳏寡孤独
Antonyms of 鳏寡孤独
More idioms starting with 鳏
- guān鳏guǎ寡gū孤qióng惸widowers, widows, orphans, and the unsupported
- guān鳏guǎ寡gū孤qióng茕widowers, widows, orphans, and the childless
- guān鳏guǎ寡qióng惸dú独widowers, widows, orphans, and the childless
- guān鳏guǎ寡qióng茕dú独vulnerable and helpless members of society
- guān鳏yú鱼kě渴fèng凤single man ardently seeking a spouse
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Open the tool →Questions about 鳏寡孤独
What does 鳏寡孤独 mean?
鳏寡孤独 (guān guǎ gū dú) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “Widowers, widows, orphans, and the childless elderly”.
How do you pronounce 鳏寡孤独?
鳏寡孤独 is pronounced guān guǎ gū dú in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 鳏寡孤独 literally mean?
Literally, 鳏寡孤独 means “widowers, widows, orphans, and the childless elderly”. It is used to mean “Widowers, widows, orphans, and the childless elderly”.
Where does 鳏寡孤独 come from?
鳏寡孤独 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
What is the Chinese definition of 鳏寡孤独?
泛指没有劳动力而又没有亲属供养的人。