以至于民不聊生
“making life unbearable for the people.”
THE DIALOGUE REEL
“The Late Emperor was autocratic and muddle-headed,”
以 至于 民不聊生
“making life unbearable for the people.”
他又忌惮着
“And he feared that”
Direct spoken expression in this communicative setting.
Traditional Chinese political philosophy judges the legitimacy of a ruler by whether the populace can live in peace and prosperity.
LEARNING CHUNKS & PARTICLES
to the extent that / so that
A formal conjunction used to introduce a negative or severe consequence of a preceding action.
the people have no means of livelihood / widespread destitution
A classic four-character idiom (chengyu) describing extreme societal deprivation and suffering under bad governance.
