<p>更生 means on its own to revitalize, or to revive. In this context, 自力更生 idiomatically means "revitalize through our own efforts". </p>

<p>An example of its usage is in the communist saying "独立自主、自力更生". iCiba translates this as "build socialism independently and with the initiative in our own hands and through self-reliance" (which I find awkward, but it gets the point across). Ultimately, 更生 states that you're revitalizing something, in this case a country.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-07-19T20:38:23.737Z
2015-07-19T20:38:23.737Z
sqrtbottle
<p>I've seen the phrase 自力更生 used to mean self-reliance, but am confused by what the function of the last 2 characters is.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-07-19T20:35:07.613Z
更生 means to revitalize, or to revive. In this context, it means "revitalize yourself with your own efforts" idiomatically
sqrtbottle
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-07-19T20:36:40.773Z
So the full phrase implies that you are somehow not in your best state to begin with?
oceanus
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-07-19T20:39:38.410Z
Yes, I would argue that 更生 suggests that something was once great, then  fell down, and is now coming back up to its "normal" level of some quality
sqrtbottle
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-07-19T20:50:50.167Z
@S.Rhee Right, but here I'm asking about 自力 not 自立 which I guess may be pronounced the same in Mandarin, but this is not true for all ways of reading Chinese.
oceanus
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-07-19T22:31:25.617Z
自力更生is a word in its own right (dictionary item), which happens to have been constructed from 2 simpler words 自力：self-power；self-reliance；efforts；self自力更生：rely [depend； count] on one's own efforts； hoe one's own row ； make one's way in life by one's own efforts ； self-dependence
user6065
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-07-20T00:52:21.150Z
更 means change, as in 更改 or 更新; so it's clearer what 更生 means then: by one's own (自) strength (力) change/renew (更) one's life （生)
Master Sparkles
<meaning-in-context>
What does "更生" in "自力更生" mean?
# What does "更生" in "自力更生" mean?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2015-07-19)

I've seen the phrase 自力更生 used to mean self-reliance, but am confused by what the function of the last 2 characters is.

**Tags:** meaning-in-context

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: 更生 means to revitalize, or to revive. In this context, it means "revitalize yourself with your own efforts" idiomatically  
> **username_0**: So the full phrase implies that you are somehow not in your best state to begin with?  
> **username_1**: Yes, I would argue that 更生 suggests that something was once great, then  fell down, and is now coming back up to its "normal" level of some quality  
> **username_0**: @S.Rhee Right, but here I'm asking about 自力 not 自立 which I guess may be pronounced the same in Mandarin, but this is not true for all ways of reading Chinese.  
> **username_2**: 自力更生is a word in its own right (dictionary item), which happens to have been constructed from 2 simpler words 自力：self-power；self-reliance；efforts；self自力更生：rely [depend； count] on one's own efforts； hoe one's own row ； make one's way in life by one's own efforts ； self-dependence  
> **username_3**: 更 means change, as in 更改 or 更新; so it's clearer what 更生 means then: by one's own (自) strength (力) change/renew (更) one's life （生)  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2015-07-19. Score: 1 | Accepted answer

更生 means on its own to revitalize, or to revive. In this context, 自力更生 idiomatically means "revitalize through our own efforts".

An example of its usage is in the communist saying "独立自主、自力更生". iCiba translates this as "build socialism independently and with the initiative in our own hands and through self-reliance" (which I find awkward, but it gets the point across). Ultimately, 更生 states that you're revitalizing something, in this case a country.


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