During the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, the renowned thinker and statesman Mozi founded the Mohist school of thought. Originally from the state of Song, he later settled permanently in the state of Lu.
Mozi originally studied Confucianism but grew disgusted with its tedious rituals, so he founded his own school and became Confucianism's main rival. His followers were mostly commoners and small craftsmen, living simply in low mud huts with unkempt thatch roofs, eating plain meals with coarse bean-leaf soup in clay bowls, wearing rough hemp in summer and deerskin jackets in winter, and burying their dead in thin paulownia-wood coffins with no lavish ceremonies.
Their practices were concrete implementations of Mozi's doctrines of "moderation in use" and "moderation in funerals," serving as protests against the extravagant and wasteful lifestyles of the ruling nobility. Politically, Mozi advocated for "universal love" and "opposition to offensive warfare," opposing war and arguing that people should respect and love one another without distinctions of closeness, rank, or status. These ideas all reflected the will of the common people of that era.
Mozi also placed great emphasis on social production, stressing that "those who rely on their labor will live, while those who do not will not survive." He practiced what he preached, teaching his disciples to engage in labor. He even called himself a "humble man," having once worked as a cart-maker.
Over two centuries after Mozi's death, the great Han Dynasty historian Sima Qian praised the Mohist school in his masterpiece *Records of the Grand Historian*, highlighting their principle of "strengthening the root and moderating expenses"—meaning boosting agriculture while cutting costs—as the key to achieving "sufficiency for every person and every household," where all enjoy warmth and plenty.
Sima Qian believed that "everyone well-fed and every household wealthy" was where Mozi excelled over others. Although the Hundred Schools of Thought each had their own arguments and strengths, no one could deny this view of the Mohist school. Later, people used the idiom "ren gei jia zu" to mean everyone is well-fed and every family is prosperous.
Source: *Records of the Grand Historian*, "Preface by the Grand Historian"
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "人给家足" came to describe everyone is well-fed and every family is prosperous.