十羊九牧 — “Ten sheep, nine shepherds”
十羊九牧 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “refers to a situation where there are too many officials for a small number of people, leading to overstaffing, inefficiency, and potential exploitation; or, it describes a scenario with too many leaders giving conflicting orders, resulting in confusion and a lack of unified direction”. Literally, “Ten sheep, nine shepherds”.
十羊九牧 Pronunciation and Pinyin
十羊九牧 Character Breakdown
Stroke OrderExample Sentence with 十羊九牧
Origin and Story of 十羊九牧
In the late Northern Zhou Dynasty, after Emperor Wen of Sui replaced the Northern Zhou regime, he restored the Han system and re-divided the land into many small prefectures and counties for administration. This led to a significant increase in the number of officials.
Yang Shangxi was deeply concerned about this situation. Observing the sharp rise in annual expenditures, he submitted a memorial to Emperor Wen of Sui, urging him to change this 'ten sheep, nine shepherds' situation. Emperor Wen of Sui adopted his suggestion, which yielded excellent results.
Idioms Related to 十羊九牧
Synonyms of 十羊九牧
More idioms starting with 十
- shí十wàn万bā八qiān千lǐ里extremely far apart
- shí十wàn万huǒ火jí急extremely urgent
- shí十wàn万huǒ火sù速with extreme urgency and speed
- shí十bù不dāng当yī一ten people are not worth one
- shí十shì世dān单chuán传sole male heir for ten generations
- shí十zhī之bā八jiǔ九most likely
- shí十èr二wàn万fēn分extremely; to the utmost degree
- shí十èr二dào道jīn金pái牌a series of urgent imperial decrees
- shí十èr二jīn金pái牌A series of urgent imperial edicts
- shí十èr二jīn金chāi钗a group of beautiful women
- shí十wǔ五gè个diào吊tǒng桶dǎ打shuǐ水，，qī七shàng上bā八xià下extremely nervous and agitated
- shí十wǔ五gè个diào吊tǒng桶dǎ打shuǐ水，，qī七shàng上bā八luò落agitated and anxious
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Open the tool →Questions about 十羊九牧
What does 十羊九牧 mean?
十羊九牧 (shí yáng jiǔ mù) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “refers to a situation where there are too many officials for a small number of people, leading to overstaffing, inefficiency, and potential exploitation; or, it describes a scenario with too many leaders giving conflicting orders, resulting in confusion and a lack of unified direction”.
How do you pronounce 十羊九牧?
十羊九牧 is pronounced shí yáng jiǔ mù in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 十羊九牧 literally mean?
Literally, 十羊九牧 means “Ten sheep, nine shepherds”. It is used to mean “refers to a situation where there are too many officials for a small number of people, leading to overstaffing, inefficiency, and potential exploitation; or, it describes a scenario with too many leaders giving conflicting orders, resulting in confusion and a lack of unified direction”.
Where does 十羊九牧 come from?
十羊九牧 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
What is the Chinese definition of 十羊九牧?
十头羊倒用九个人放牧。比喻官多民少，赋税剥削很重。也比喻使令不一，无所适从。