安土重迁

Pronunciation: ān tǔ zhòng qiān Literal meaning: Content with soil, reluctant to move

Origin & Usage

The Book of Han calls it the nature of the common people: 安土重迁 — settled (安) on the land (土) and treating a move (迁) as a weighty matter (重). 重 is read zhòng here, to regard as serious, not chóng, which is a standard trap. The phrase is descriptive rather than critical in origin, explaining why agricultural populations resist relocation, and Chinese still uses it in that analytical register, of communities as often as of individuals. It is the standard account of why people stay.

Examples

English: "Rural communities often maintain strong attachment to their land."

Chinese: 农村社区往往安土重迁，对土地有强烈的依恋。