死有余辜 — “To have more than enough guilt for death”
死有余辜 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to describe someone whose crimes are so heinous that even death is not sufficient punishment to atone for them; to deserve death many times over”. Literally, “To have more than enough guilt for death”.
死有余辜 Pronunciation and Pinyin
死有余辜 Character Breakdown
Stroke OrderExample Sentence with 死有余辜
Origin and Story of 死有余辜
During the Western Han Dynasty, there was a legal expert named Lu Wenshu, who was quite displeased with the prevailing laws and legal system of his time.
When Emperor Xuan of Han ascended to the throne, Lu Wenshu submitted a memorial titled "Shang De Huan Xing Shu" (A Memorial on Upholding Virtue and Mitigating Punishments). In this document, he cited a series of historical wrongful convictions and highlighted the widespread phenomenon of prison guards coercing confessions through torture.
He argued that even honest officials, influenced by the apparent heinousness of certain crimes, might judge a person to be 'deserving more than death' (死有余辜), thereby neglecting deeper issues within the judicial process.
Emperor Xuan found his arguments very insightful and subsequently implemented more benevolent governance policies.
Idioms Related to 死有余辜
Antonyms of 死有余辜
More idioms starting with 死
- sǐ死bù不huí回tóu头stubbornly refuse to change
- sǐ死bù不kāi开kǒu口refuse to speak or reveal information
- sǐ死bù不huǐ悔gǎi改stubbornly refuse to repent
- sǐ死bù不gǎi改huǐ悔unrepentant until death
- sǐ死bù不xuán旋zhǒng踵Advance with unwavering resolve unto death
- sǐ死bù不sǐ死，，huó活bù不huó活caught in an agonizing dilemma
- sǐ死bù不gān甘xīn心unwilling to accept defeat until death
- sǐ死bù不míng瞑mù目die with everlasting regret
- sǐ死bù不yào要liǎn脸utterly shameless
- sǐ死bù不zú足xī惜death not worth regretting
- sǐ死bù不bì闭mù目die with unfulfilled wishes
- sǐ死qiě且bù不xiǔ朽to be remembered forever
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Open the tool →Questions about 死有余辜
What does 死有余辜 mean?
死有余辜 (sǐ yǒu yú gū) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to describe someone whose crimes are so heinous that even death is not sufficient punishment to atone for them; to deserve death many times over”.
How do you pronounce 死有余辜?
死有余辜 is pronounced sǐ yǒu yú gū in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 死有余辜 literally mean?
Literally, 死有余辜 means “to have more than enough guilt for death”. It is used to mean “to describe someone whose crimes are so heinous that even death is not sufficient punishment to atone for them; to deserve death many times over”.
Where does 死有余辜 come from?
死有余辜 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
What is the Chinese definition of 死有余辜?
辜：罪。形容罪大恶极，即使处死刑也抵偿不了他的罪恶。