城下之盟 — “A humiliating treaty or agreement signed under coercion”

城下之盟 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “a humiliating treaty or agreement signed under coercion”. Typically when one party is in a desperate situation with the enemy at their doorstep. Literally, “Treaty under the city walls”.

Frequency

城下之盟 Pronunciation and Pinyin

城下之盟 Character Breakdown

Stroke Order

Character	Pinyin	Strokes	Meaning
城	chéng	9	city or fortified wall
下	xià	3	below, down, next, to descend
之	zhī	4	possessive or connective particle
盟	méng	13	swear an oath or alliance

Example Sentence with 城下之盟

在激烈的商业竞争中，一些小型企业有时不得不接受“城下之盟”，以确保其业务能够继续发展。

In fierce business competition, some small enterprises occasionally have to accept a "treaty under the city walls" to ensure their operations can continue to develop.

Origin and Story of 城下之盟

When the state of Chu attacked the state of Song (in present-day Shangqiu County, Henan), the capital of Song was heavily besieged by the Chu army. The people of Song in the city ran out of food and firewood, and were in a state of panic.

So, Hua Yuan secretly sneaked into the camp of Chu's chief general, Zifan, under the cover of darkness. With a firm tone, he told Zifan, "Our lord has instructed me to tell you clearly: we have reached the point where our food and firewood are completely exhausted. However, if you think you can use this to force us into a 'treaty under the city walls' and put us to death, that is absolutely impossible!"

Zifan, seeing Hua Yuan's determination, immediately agreed to withdraw the troops, negotiate on equal terms, and form a friendly alliance.