杀一儆百 — “To punish one individual severely as a warning to many others”
杀一儆百 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to punish one individual severely as a warning to many others”. To make an example of someone. Literally, “kill one to warn a hundred”.
杀一儆百 Pronunciation and Pinyin
杀一儆百 Character Breakdown
Stroke OrderExample Sentence with 杀一儆百
Origin and Story of 杀一儆百
In 949 AD, Li Shouzhen, a rebellious general of the Later Han dynasty, led his troops to attack Hexi (today's Hexi Corridor in Gansu province). Before the operation, he had his men disguise themselves as wine merchants, enticing Guo Wei's troops in Hexi to drink freely with small profits. Then, taking advantage of their drunkenness, he launched a surprise attack on the Hexi military camp.
Upon learning this, Guo Wei immediately issued an order: no private drinking was allowed in Hexi, except for celebrations and banquets; violators would be executed.
Once, Li Shen, Guo Wei's closest general, violated this rule and drank alcohol. Guo Wei sent for Li Shen, severely reprimanded him, and then immediately had him beheaded.
From then on, the officers and soldiers in Hexi dared not drink casually again.
Idioms Related to 杀一儆百
Synonyms of 杀一儆百
Antonyms of 杀一儆百
More idioms starting with 杀
- shā杀yī一lì利bǎi百punish one to warn many
- shā杀yī一lì砺bǎi百punish one to warn many
- shā杀yī一jǐng警bǎi百punish one to warn many
- shā杀rén人bù不yòng用dāo刀destroy reputation without violence
- shā杀rén人bù不zhǎ眨yǎn眼ruthless and merciless killer
- shā杀rén人bù不jiàn见xuè血harm insidiously without trace
- shā杀rén人cháng偿mìng命，，qiàn欠zhài债huán还qián钱Life for a life, debt for a debt
- shā杀rén人jié劫cái财kill people and rob property
- shā杀rén人rú如jiè芥slaughter people like weeds
- shā杀rén人rú如cǎo草slaughter people like grass
- shā杀rén人rú如hāo蒿slaughter people on a massive scale
- shā杀rén人rú如yì蓺slaughter people in great numbers
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Open the tool →Questions about 杀一儆百
What does 杀一儆百 mean?
杀一儆百 (shā yī jǐng bǎi) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to punish one individual severely as a warning to many others”.
How do you pronounce 杀一儆百?
杀一儆百 is pronounced shā yī jǐng bǎi in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 杀一儆百 literally mean?
Literally, 杀一儆百 means “kill one to warn a hundred”. It is used to mean “to punish one individual severely as a warning to many others”.
Where does 杀一儆百 come from?
杀一儆百 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
What is the Chinese definition of 杀一儆百?
儆：警告。处死一个人，借以警戒许多人。