Listen to this articlezhìnèi-cáiwài 治内裁外
Handling Internal Affairs Takes Precedence over External Affairs.
治理好国家的内部事务，才能处理好对外事务。“治内”是指国家内部的治理达到理想状态；“裁外”是指量度天下大势，制定对外政策，选择适当的政治、外交、军事等手段，影响国际格局。它告诉我们一条原理：国家内政是对外方略的基础。
A country’s internal affairs must be handled well before its external affairs can be handled well. Zhinei (治内) means that domestic governance has achieved an ideal state; caiwai (裁外) means assessing the broad trends in the world, making external policies, and selecting appropriate political, diplomatic, and military measures to influence the international situation. This tells us a basic principle: a country’s internal governance is the foundation of its external strategy.
引例 Citations：
◎内政不修，外举事不济。（《管子·匡君大匡》）
（国内政务不去整治好，对外用兵就不会成功。）
If internal affairs are not handled properly, using military force externally will not succeed. (Guanzi)
◎三王不务离合而正，五霸不待从横而察，治内以裁外而已矣。（《韩非子·忠孝》）
（夏、商、周三代开国君主没有致力于与谁疏远、与谁联合就能匡正天下，春秋五霸也没有搞合纵连横就能明察天下大势，他们不过是在治理好内政基础上再处理对外事务罢了。）
The founding rulers of the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties did not try to impose order on the land by keeping their distance from some or becoming close to others, nor did the Five Most Powerful Kings of the Spring and Autumn Period discern the broad trends in the world by forming vertical or horizontal alliances. They managed external affairs only after they had handled their internal affairs well. (Hanfeizi)
