That's not the case. This sentence comes from Chapter 46 of "The Scholars" written by Wu Jingzi in the Qing Dynasty. The original text is as follows:
It is better to bully a white-bearded man than to bully a poor young man. .
There must be a day when the dragon wears the phoenix. I don’t believe that my pants will wear holes in my life.
Translation: It is better to look down on an old man with no money than a poor young man, because young people have unlimited future. If young people work hard, they will become successful sooner or later. Don't believe that they will always wear pants with holes all their lives.
Extended information:
Historical examples of "Don't bully young people into poverty"
1. Zhu Maichen
Zhu Maichen is a good read He writes poems and books, but does not know how to manage the family business. He is over forty and still a poor scholar. In order to make a living, he had to cut firewood for a living. Seeing that the family was almost in trouble, and Zhu Maichen did not look like a good supporter, his wife wanted to divorce Zhu Maichen and then remarry someone else. But Zhu Maichen was confident that he would be successful one day and asked his wife to wait for him to become prosperous.
His wife yelled and cursed, and finally they separated. Unexpectedly, a few years later, Zhu Maichen's official career was prosperous and he actually took the position of prefect. Later, he quelled the rebellion and took the position of Jiuqing. Zhu Maichen did not embarrass his ex-wife. Instead, he sent someone to pick up his ex-wife and her current husband as guests in his house, and entertained her well. His ex-wife's intestines are probably filled with regret.
2. Su Qin
Su Qin was a famous political strategist during the Warring States Period. He came from a poor family. Later, he became a disciple of the contemporary strange man "Gui Guzi". When Su Qin was down and out, he was often ridiculed by his brother and sister-in-law, saying that he went out every day to live a miserable life.
Su Qin did not argue, but learned from the pain and studied "Tai Gong Yin Fu" in seclusion. A year later, Su Qin came out of seclusion and rushed to Qin with great ambitions. He proposed the strategy of annexing the six countries to King Qin Hui, but it was not adopted. .
Su Qin turned to lobby the six countries to unite against Qin. After some hard work, Su Qin's strategy was adopted by the six kings, who appointed Su Qin as the prime minister. Su Qinpei, the Prime Minister of the Six Kingdoms, returned home in splendid clothes. His sister-in-law, who had once ridiculed him, was so frightened that she knelt down and begged for mercy.
Su Qin said a famous saying, "Sister-in-law, how could you be so arrogant before and become so respectful later?" Sister-in-law said on her knees, because you are now powerful and rich. Su Qin looked up to the sky and sighed. This is also the origin of the idiom "Be naughty in front and respectful in the back".
3. Han Xin
This is another allusion to the idiom "humiliation under the crotch". Before Han Xin became famous, he was in extreme poverty and could not even guarantee three meals a day. He once had a meal at the home of his sworn brother, but was rejected by his wife, so he made a living fishing. He often couldn't catch fish and had to starve. Fortunately, he was helped by the floating mother who washed clothes, so he didn't starve to death. Han Xin never leaves his sword, but never uses it.
As a result, he was bullied by the butcher in the market and gave Han Xin two choices: either draw his sword and kill him, or get under his crotch. After Han Xin thought about it, he slipped under the butcher's crotch without saying a word, causing everyone present to burst into laughter.
Later, Han Xin's fortune changed and he became Liu Bang's general and was granted the title of Marquis of Huaiyin. After returning home, Han Xin found the butcher who had humiliated him. The butcher was so frightened that he knelt down and begged for mercy. Han Xin did not punish him, but gave him a job. This is what is called repaying evil with kindness.