肉袒牵羊 — “A historical ritual of surrender for a defeated ruler or state”
肉袒牵羊 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “a historical ritual of surrender for a defeated ruler or state”. Symbolizing complete submission and begging for mercy, typically involving the defeated party baring their torso and leading a sheep. Literally, “bare-chested and leading a sheep”.
肉袒牵羊 Pronunciation and Pinyin
肉袒牵羊 Character Breakdown
Stroke OrderExample Sentence with 肉袒牵羊
Origin and Story of 肉袒牵羊
In 597 BCE, King Zhuang of Chu led his army to attack the state of Zheng and captured its capital.
Duke Xiang of Zheng, bare-chested and leading a sheep, knelt before King Zhuang of Chu, begging for peace. He offered to cede Zheng's territory to Chu and allow its people to become Chu's subjects, asking only for a barren piece of land to spend the rest of their lives.
King Zhuang of Chu, seeing Duke Xiang of Zheng's sincere repentance, accepted his plea for peace.
Idioms Related to 肉袒牵羊
More idioms starting with 肉
- ròu肉zhōng中cì刺a thorn in the flesh
- ròu肉pǔ圃jiǔ酒chí池extreme luxury with excessive food and drink
- ròu肉shān山pú脯lín林extreme luxury and extravagance
- ròu肉shān山jiǔ酒hǎi海lavish banquets with abundant food and drink
- ròu肉bó搏zhàn战hand-to-hand combat
- ròu肉lín林jiǔ酒chí池extreme luxury and extravagance
- ròu肉yǎn眼fán凡fū夫ordinary person lacking spiritual insight
- ròu肉yǎn眼fán凡tāi胎ordinary human with limited insight
- ròu肉yǎn眼yú愚méi眉to have limited insight
- ròu肉zhú竹cáo嘈zá杂noisy vocal and instrumental music
- ròu肉bó薄gǔ骨bìng并fierce close-quarters combat
- ròu肉tǎn袒xī膝xíng行bare torso and crawl on knees in submission
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Open the tool →Questions about 肉袒牵羊
What does 肉袒牵羊 mean?
肉袒牵羊 (ròu tǎn qiān yáng) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “a historical ritual of surrender for a defeated ruler or state”.
How do you pronounce 肉袒牵羊?
肉袒牵羊 is pronounced ròu tǎn qiān yáng in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 肉袒牵羊 literally mean?
Literally, 肉袒牵羊 means “bare-chested and leading a sheep”. It is used to mean “a historical ritual of surrender for a defeated ruler or state”.
Where does 肉袒牵羊 come from?
肉袒牵羊 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
What is the Chinese definition of 肉袒牵羊?
牵羊：牵着羊，表示犒劳军队。古代战败投降的仪式。