Yumin zhengce

{{Infobox Chinese

| title = yumin zhengce

| t = {{linktext|愚民政策}}

| p = yúmín zhèngcè

| w = yü-min cheng-tsʻe

| hangul = 우민정책

| hanja = 愚民政策

| rr = umin jeongchaeg

| kanji = 愚民政策

| kana = ぐみんせいさく

| romaji = gumin seisaku

}}

{{transliteration|lzh|Yumin zhengce}} ({{zh|p=yúmín zhèngcè|c=愚民政策}}, {{literal translation|policy of governing ignorant masses}}) is a chengyu and concept in Chinese political philosophy.

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.{{cite web |last1=McGregor |first1=James |title=China went from being a closed system with open minds to an open system with closed minds |url=https://qz.com/33449/china-went-from-being-a-closed-system-with-open-minds-to-an-open-system-with-closed-minds |website=Quartz |date=3 December 2012 |access-date=21 February 2024}} The 3rd century BC Book of Lord Shang states that "[when] the masses are kept ignorant, they are thus [made] easy to control" ({{lang|zh|民愚則易治也}}).{{cite web |title=eBook of Shangzi|url=https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/7383/pg7383-images.html |website=Project Gutenberg |access-date=21 February 2024}}