zhì dà guó ruò pēng xiǎo xiāndictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
ruling a large nation is like cooking a small delicacy (idiom) / effective government requires minimal intervention
Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-9989a0cdb8a58303. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

治大國若烹小鮮 治大国若烹小鲜 [zhi4 da4 guo2 ruo4 peng1 xiao3 xian1] /ruling a large nation is like cooking a small delicacy (idiom)/effective government requires minimal intervention/

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Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

Other forms in these source records: 治大國若烹小鮮

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

治大国若烹小鲜
Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.