Yumin zhengce

Yumin zhengce (Chinese: 愚民政策; pinyin: yúmín zhèngcè, lit. 'policy of governing ignorant masses') is a chengyu and concept in Chinese political philosophy.

yumin zhengce
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	愚民政策
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin yúmín zhèngcè Wade–Giles yü-min cheng-tsʻe
Korean name
Hangul	우민정책
Hanja	愚民政策
Transcriptions Revised Romanization umin jeongchaeg
Japanese name
Kanji	愚民政策
Kana	ぐみんせいさく
Transcriptions Romanization gumin seisaku

The term refers to the practice of a government deliberately keeping its population in a state of ignorance in order to make them more obedient to political authority and too incompetent to form effective rebellions against the state, thus rendering them more easily subjugated.

History

The systematization of yumin zhengce has been attributed to Shang Yang, a statesman of the Qin dynasty.^[1] The 3rd century BC Book of Lord Shang states that "[when] the masses are kept ignorant, they are thus [made] easy to control" (民愚則易治也).^[2]

Further reading

• Peterson, Glen (1994). "State Literacy Ideologies and the Transformation of Rural China". Australian Journal of Chinese Affairs (32): 95–120. doi:10.2307/2949829. JSTOR 2949829. Retrieved 21 February 2024.

See also

• Obscurantism
• Censorship in China
• Burning of books and burying of scholars
• Rectification of names
• 3S Policy [ja]