







惩一警百 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to punish one individual as a warning to many”. To make an example of someone to deter others. Literally, “Punish one to warn a hundred”.
During the Western Han Dynasty, Tian Yannian, the Administrator of Hedong, visited Pingyang, the hometown of Huo Guang. He discovered that Yin Wengui, a market official, was a rare talent, so he petitioned the emperor to appoint him as the Administrator of Donghai.
Donghai was a region plagued by rampant bandits. Yin Wengui decided to implement a strategy of 'punishing one to warn a hundred.' He arrested and executed Xu Zhongsun, a powerful local figure who had been collaborating with the bandits.
As a result, Donghai quickly became peaceful and orderly.

Create PNGs with pinyin, highlight character parts or remove strokes
Open the tool →
Picture and word Bingo for your class
Open the tool →
Turn a Chinese character or sentence into a GIF or MP4
Open the tool →
Chinese and English fill-in vocabulary worksheets
Open the tool →惩一警百 (chéng yī jǐng bǎi) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to punish one individual as a warning to many”.
惩一警百 is pronounced chéng yī jǐng bǎi in Mandarin Chinese.
Literally, 惩一警百 means “Punish one to warn a hundred”. It is used to mean “to punish one individual as a warning to many”.
惩一警百 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
警:警戒,也做“儆”。指惩罚一人以警戒众人。