不教而诛 — “Punish without teaching”
不教而诛 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to punish someone severely, often by execution, without having first educated or warned them about the rules or consequences; to punish without prior instruction or warning”. Literally, “Punish without teaching”.
不教而诛 Pronunciation and Pinyin
不教而诛 Character Breakdown
Stroke OrderExample Sentence with 不教而诛
Origin and Story of 不教而诛
The idiom 'Bù Jiāo Ér Zhū' originates from a conversation between Confucius and his disciple, Zizhang. Zizhang once asked Confucius about the principles of good governance for a state. Confucius replied that a ruler should uphold 'five virtues' and eliminate 'four evils.'
Among these 'four evils,' the most significant was 'punishing people without first educating them or providing clear warnings,' which Confucius sternly categorized as 'cruelty' (虐). He explained that it is unjust to hold people accountable for breaking rules they were never taught.
The other three evils he mentioned were 'tyranny,' 'robbery,' and 'pettiness' (referring to a narrow-minded and ungenerous approach to governance). This emphasizes the Confucian belief in the importance of education and clear instruction before imposing penalties.
Idioms Related to 不教而诛
Synonyms of 不教而诛
Antonyms of 不教而诛
More idioms starting with 不
- bù不yī一ér而zú足numerous and varied, impossible to list all
- bù不sān三bù不sì四improper or disreputable
- bù不shàng上bù不xià下stuck in an awkward position
- bù不shàng上bù不luò落in an awkward or embarrassing situation
- bù不shì世zhī之yè业unparalleled achievements
- bù不shì世zhī之chóu仇unrivaled enmity
- bù不shì世zhī之gōng功unparalleled achievement
- bù不shì世zhī之lüè略unparalleled strategy
- bù不sàng丧bǐ匕chàng鬯peace and order, rituals undisturbed
- bù不fēng丰bù不jiǎn俭neither extravagant nor frugal
- bù不fēng丰bù不shā杀neither extravagant nor frugal
- bù不wèi为wǔ五dǒu斗mǐ米zhé折yāo腰Refuse to compromise integrity for meager gain
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Open the tool →Questions about 不教而诛
What does 不教而诛 mean?
不教而诛 (bù jiào ér zhū) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to punish someone severely, often by execution, without having first educated or warned them about the rules or consequences; to punish without prior instruction or warning”.
How do you pronounce 不教而诛?
不教而诛 is pronounced bù jiào ér zhū in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 不教而诛 literally mean?
Literally, 不教而诛 means “Punish without teaching”. It is used to mean “to punish someone severely, often by execution, without having first educated or warned them about the rules or consequences; to punish without prior instruction or warning”.
Where does 不教而诛 come from?
不教而诛 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
What is the Chinese definition of 不教而诛?
教：教育；诛：处罚，杀死。不警告就处死。指事先不教育人，一犯错误就加以惩罚。