师 夷 长 技 以 制 夷

shī yí cháng jì yǐ zhì yídictionary entry

"learn from the foreigners in order to gain command of them", idea advocated by Wei Yuan 魏源[Wèi Yuán]

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-6840db7285a92965. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

師夷長技以制夷 师夷长技以制夷 [shi1 yi2 chang2 ji4 yi3 zhi4 yi2] /"learn from the foreigners in order to gain command of them", idea advocated by Wei Yuan 魏源[Wei4 Yuan2]/

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: 師夷長技以制夷

师
shī
teacher / master / expert / model / army division / (old) troops / to dispatch troops
Shī
surname Shi
夷
yí
non-Han people, esp. to the East of China / barbarians / to wipe out / to exterminate / to tear down / to raze
长
cháng
long / (bound form) length / (bound form) strong point / forte / (bound form) to be good at / (literary) surplus / spare (Taiwan pr. [zhàng])
zhǎng
chief / head / elder / to grow / to develop / to increase / to enhance
技
jì
skill
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]
制
zhì
system / to control / to regulate / to manufacture / to make
夷
yí
non-Han people, esp. to the East of China / barbarians / to wipe out / to exterminate / to tear down / to raze

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.