厚往薄来
hòu wǎng bó lái
to give generously and ask little in return
Character by character
厚hòu
generous
generous
往wǎng
going
going
薄bó
thin
thin
来lái
coming
coming
Example
他做生意讲究厚往薄来，宁可自己少赚一点，也要让合作伙伴满意。
In business he believes in giving more than he takes: he would rather earn a little less himself than leave a partner unhappy.
Tone: positive (praise).
Usage and origin
From the 中庸 chapter of the 礼记: a ruler wins over the feudal lords by giving rich gifts and asking only modest tribute. It became a guiding principle of the Ming tribute system. 薄 is read bó here, not báo. Now used of generous dealings between people, firms or countries.
Learn this in Lesson 97 · HSK 6–7: 郑和下西洋 (Zheng He’s voyages to the Western Ocean)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.
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