During the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, feudal lords constantly waged war to expand their power, filling the land with smoke and fire while common people cried out in misery, longing for peace and stability.
During the Warring States period, as various states vied for power, many schools of thought emerged to promote their doctrines to rulers seeking peace and prosperity. Among them was Mencius, the foremost disciple of Confucius, who tirelessly advocated for benevolent governance.
He actively advocated that rulers should practice benevolent governance, conquering the world with "benevolence." He said to his student Gongsun Chou:
“In the past, King Wen of Zhou started with a mere hundred-li territory, governed with benevolence, won the people’s hearts, and built a great legacy that flourished. But today, the people suffer from displacement and tyranny, crying out in despair—this harms the state. If we adopt benevolent governance, we can change this. Take Qi: its land is far larger than King Wen’s was. If you rule with kindness like he did, bring peace and stability, you’ll relieve the people’s pain, inspire them to farm, innovate, and serve joyfully. Soon, the state will thrive. By doing so, you’ll achieve double the results with half the effort of the ancients.”
This is the origin of the common idiom "half the work, double the result." It describes achieving great results with little effort. The opposite is "double the work, half the result."
Source: *Mencius*, Chapter "Gongsun Chou I"
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "事半功倍" came to describe achieving great results with little effort.