先斩后奏 — “To act first and report afterwards”

先斩后奏 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to act first and report afterwards”. To make a decision or take action without prior authorization and then inform superiors, creating a fait accompli. Literally, “execute first, report later”.

Frequency

先斩后奏 Pronunciation and Pinyin

先斩后奏 Character Breakdown

Stroke Order

Character	Pinyin	Strokes	Meaning
先	xiān	6	First, before, or ancestors
斩	zhǎn	8	cut off decisively
后	hòu	6	after, behind, empress
奏	zòu	9	play music, present to emperor

Example Sentence with 先斩后奏

这个项目时间紧迫，我决定先斩后奏，直接开始实施，稍后会向领导汇报详细情况。

Due to the tight schedule of this project, I decided to act first and report afterwards, starting the implementation directly. I will report the details to the supervisor shortly.

Origin and Story of 先斩后奏

The idiom 'Xian Zhan Hou Zou' is associated with the story of Dou E. To fund his journey to the imperial examinations, Dou Tianzhang had to mortgage his daughter, Dou E, to Granny Cai as a child bride.

Ten years later, Dou E's husband passed away. A local ruffian, Zhang Luer, desired Dou E and falsely accused her of poisoning his father. Despite her innocence, Dou E was unjustly condemned and executed by the local authorities.

Six years later, Dou Tianzhang, who had by then become a highly trusted official with the emperor and was granted the special power to 'execute first and report afterwards' ("先斩后奏"), used his authority to thoroughly investigate the case and ultimately clear his daughter's name, bringing justice to her wrongful death.