杀妻求将 — “Kill wife to seek generalship”
杀妻求将 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to ruthlessly sacrifice everything, even one's closest kin, for personal ambition, power, or status; to be utterly unscrupulous in pursuit of one's goals”. Literally, “Kill wife to seek generalship”.
杀妻求将 Pronunciation and Pinyin
杀妻求将 Character Breakdown
Stroke OrderExample Sentence with 杀妻求将
Origin and Story of 杀妻求将
During the Warring States period, Wu Qi, a native of Wey, went to the State of Lu to study military strategy under Zeng Zi. Later, he became an official responsible for training the Lu army.
After becoming an official, Wu Qi married a beautiful woman from the State of Qi. When the powerful State of Qi attacked Lu, the ruler of Lu wanted to appoint Wu Qi as a general. However, he was concerned about Wu Qi's loyalty, as his wife was from Qi.
Upon hearing this, Wu Qi, determined to prove his allegiance and gain the coveted position, killed his wife and then went to see the ruler. Convinced of his loyalty and ruthlessness, the ruler appointed him as a general.
Idioms Related to 杀妻求将
More idioms starting with 杀
- shā杀yī一jǐng儆bǎi百punish one to warn many
- 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
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Open the tool →Questions about 杀妻求将
What does 杀妻求将 mean?
杀妻求将 (shā qī qiú jiàng) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to ruthlessly sacrifice everything, even one's closest kin, for personal ambition, power, or status; to be utterly unscrupulous in pursuit of one's goals”.
How do you pronounce 杀妻求将?
杀妻求将 is pronounced shā qī qiú jiàng in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 杀妻求将 literally mean?
Literally, 杀妻求将 means “Kill wife to seek generalship”. It is used to mean “to ruthlessly sacrifice everything, even one's closest kin, for personal ambition, power, or status; to be utterly unscrupulous in pursuit of one's goals”.
Where does 杀妻求将 come from?
杀妻求将 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
What is the Chinese definition of 杀妻求将?
春秋时，吴起杀掉妻子以求得到鲁国的信任和重用。比喻为了追求名利而不惜做灭绝人性的事。