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挟天子以令诸侯

xié tiān zǐ yǐ lìng zhū hóudictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
(expr.) hold the feudal overlord and you control his vassals
Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-184a0eee10f6905f. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

挾天子以令諸侯 挟天子以令诸侯 [xie2 tian1 zi3 yi3 ling4 zhu1 hou2] /(expr.) hold the feudal overlord and you control his vassals/

Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.

Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

Other forms in these source records: 挾天子以令諸侯

  • 挟
    jiā

    See the full entry for source details.

    xié

    (bound form) to clasp under the arm / (bound form) to coerce / (bound form) to harbor (resentment etc) / Taiwan pr. [xiá]

  • 天
    tiān

    day / sky / heaven

  • 子
    zǐ

    son / child / seed / egg / small thing / 1st earthly branch: 11 p.m.–1 a.m., midnight, 11th solar month (7th December to 5th January), year of the rat / viscount, fourth of five orders of nobility 五等爵位[wǔ děng jué wèi] / ancient Chinese compass point: 0° (north) / subsidiary / subordinate / (prefix) sub-

    zi

    noun suffix, as in 椅子[yǐ zi] "chair"

  • 以
    yǐ

    to use / by means of / according to / in order to / because of / at (a certain date or place)

    Yǐ

    abbr. for Israel 以色列[Yǐ sè liè]

  • 令
    líng

    used in 脊令[jí líng] / used in 令狐[Líng hú] (Taiwan pr. [lìng])

    lǐng

    classifier for a ream of paper

    lìng

    to order / to command / an order / warrant / writ / to cause / to make sth happen / virtuous / honorific title / season / government position (old) / type of short song or poem

  • 诸
    zhū

    all / various

    Zhū

    surname Zhu

  • 侯
    hóu

    marquis, second of the five orders of ancient Chinese nobility 五等爵位[wǔ děng jué wèi] / nobleman / high official

    hòu

    used in 閩侯|闽侯[Mǐn hòu] (the name of a place in Fujian)

    Hóu

    surname Hou

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.