开源节流 — “To broaden sources of income and reduce expenditure”
开源节流 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to broaden sources of income and reduce expenditure”. To increase revenue and decrease outgoings. Literally, “Open up sources, restrict expenditures”.
开源节流 Pronunciation and Pinyin
开源节流 Character Breakdown
Stroke OrderExample Sentence with 开源节流
Origin and Story of 开源节流
During the Warring States period, the philosopher Xun Kuang (Xunzi) explored strategies for enriching a state in his 'On Enriching the State' chapter. He proposed that for a state to become prosperous and strong, it must cherish its people and practice '开源节流' (opening up new sources of income and economizing on expenses) in its finances. Only then can the common people live and work in peace, developing production, and enabling the state to thrive.
If resources are wasted without regard for production, the people will suffer severe poverty. Thus, Xunzi famously stated, 'If the lower classes are impoverished, the upper classes will be poor; if the lower classes are prosperous, the upper classes will be prosperous.'
Idioms Related to 开源节流
Antonyms of 开源节流
More idioms starting with 开
- kāi开yún云jiàn见tiān天emerge from obscurity into clarity
- kāi开yún云jiàn见rì日see light after darkness
- kāi开lì利chú除hài害promote benefits and eliminate harms
- kāi开huá华jiē结shí实bloom and bear fruit
- kāi开huā华jié结guǒ果blossom and bear fruit
- kāi开juàn卷yǒu有dé得Reading always brings rewards
- kāi开juàn卷yǒu有yì益Reading always brings benefits
- kāi开kǒu口jiàn见hóu喉lóng咙speak frankly and directly
- kāi开kǒu口jiàn见xīn心Speak one's true thoughts frankly
- kāi开kǒu口jiàn见dǎn胆speak frankly and openly
- kāi开tái台luó锣gǔ鼓the beginning of an event
- kāi开hé合zì自rú如operate freely and flexibly
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Open the tool →Questions about 开源节流
What does 开源节流 mean?
开源节流 (kāi yuán jié liú) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to broaden sources of income and reduce expenditure”.
How do you pronounce 开源节流?
开源节流 is pronounced kāi yuán jié liú in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 开源节流 literally mean?
Literally, 开源节流 means “Open up sources, restrict expenditures”. It is used to mean “to broaden sources of income and reduce expenditure”.
Where does 开源节流 come from?
开源节流 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
What is the Chinese definition of 开源节流?
开：劝课；源：水源。开发水源，节制水流。比喻增加收入，节省开支。