万乘

See also 万乗, and 萬乘

Mandarin

simpl.		万乘
trad.		萬乘

Etymology

万 (10,000) + 乘 (measure word for a chariot pulled by a team of four horses)

In the Zhou Dynasty, a system was enacted whereby the emperor would be allotted a 1,000 li plot of land, along with a fleet of 10,000 chariots (万乘). Later on, the term 万乘 came to refer to the emperor.

Noun

万乘 (simplified, Pinyin wànshèng, traditional 萬乘)

1. (archaic) the emperor
2. (archaic) 10,000 war chariots (each pulled by a team of four horses)

References

• "万乘" (in Mandarin), Guoyu Cidian On-line Mandarin Dictionary (國語辭典). URL accessed on 2008-01-20.