noun
a ruler should worry before the people and enjoy only after the people
A Confucian precept for leadership: the ideal ruler endures hardship first and seeks pleasure only after the people are content. Used as a yojijukugo in formal or literary contexts.
先憂後楽は、為政者の心得として古くから重んじられてきた。
The principle of 'worry first, enjoy later' has long been valued as a precept for rulers.
From a phrase in the Chinese classic 'Yueyang Lou Ji' by Fan Zhongyan, expressing the ideal that a leader should worry before the people and enjoy only after them.