芟夷
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Chinese[edit]
| to mow; to cut | to kill; to eradicate | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| trad. (芟夷) | 芟 | 夷 | |
| simp. #(芟夷) | 芟 | 夷 | |
| alternative forms | 芟荑 | ||
Etymology[edit]
The phrase can be found in early written literature such as the Zuozhuan (《左傳·隱公六年》):
- 爲國家者，見惡如農夫之務去草焉。芟夷蘊崇之，絶其本根，勿使能殖，則善者信矣。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
- From: Commentary of Zuo, c. 4th century BCE
- Wéi guójiā zhě, jiàn è rú nóngfū zhī wù qù cǎo yān. Shānyí yùnchóng zhī, jué qí běngēn, wùshǐ néng zhí, zé shànzhě shēn yǐ. [Pinyin]
- Those charged with the administration of a state or hereditary fief, on seeing evil deeds, acts like a peasant who is obliged to vigorously remove the weeds. He cuts them down, uproots them, collects every single one of them, and pile them up; he destroys their roots and stops them from propagating. Thus, the good ones can grow.
为国家者，见恶如农夫之务去草焉。芟夷蕴崇之，绝其本根，勿使能殖，则善者信矣。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]
Pronunciation[edit]
Verb[edit]
芟夷
- (literary) to weed; to mow grass
- (literary, figurative) to cut down; to delete
- (literary, figurative) to destroy completely; to annihilate; to eradicate; to wipe out