Water can carry a boat and also capsize it. This comes from Xunzi's "Xunzi Wangzhi Chapter" of the Warring States Period. The original text: The king is a boat; the common man is the water; the water carries the boat, and the water capsizes it. Boat. Whose famous saying is that water can both carry and capsize a boat? What does it mean?

Whose famous saying and meaning is "Water can carry a boat but it can also overturn it"

This is a famous saying by Xunzi. The monarch is like a ship, and the people are like water. Water can make the ship sail smoothly or sink it.

Water can carry a boat, but it can also overturn it. This means that rulers are like boats, and people are like water. Water can not only allow boats to sail safely, but also overthrow, engulf, and sink them in the water. It means that if something is used properly, it will be beneficial, but if it is used inappropriately, it will be harmful. The meaning of this sentence is very straightforward, that is, a political power is regarded as a "boat" and the people are "water". The meaning of "water can carry a boat but also capsize it" is roughly equivalent to "he who wins the hearts of the people will win the world, and whoever loses the hearts of the people will lose the world."