Sunday, October 21, 2018

What is the origin of the sentence "농자천하지대본"?

ANSWER: I'm not sure, but the sentence was used in a 1513 article in the Annals of King Jungjong.

농자천하지대본 (農者天下之大本) literally means "Agriculture (農者) [is] the country's (天下之) foundation (大本)." Though I am unsure of the origin of the quote, it is often used in Korea when giving encouragement to farmers. And Daniel Webster (1782 - 1852) expressed the same sentiment in a May 1844 speech in Trenton, New Jersey:
 I look, therefore, upon it as altogether a wrong statement of the question, to say that a tariff for protection is alone beneficial, or mainly beneficial, to manufacturers. I regard it as essential to the interest of agriculture, which may be regarded as the foundation of the country, inasmuch as it creates a market for its productions. And I am disposed to pass the few moments allowed us here, in discussing these things which lie at the foundation of the prosperity of the country, and which, if I understand the matter, form the platform of the Whig principles.

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