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Chinese/Dictionary entry

挟天子以令天下

xié tiān zǐ yǐ lìng tiān xiàdictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
(expr.) hold the feudal overlord and you control the whole country
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-c8572ab88cf861f4. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

挾天子以令天下 挟天子以令天下 [xie2 tian1 zi3 yi3 ling4 tian1 xia4] /(expr.) hold the feudal overlord and you control the whole country/

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: 挾天子以令天下

  • 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

  • 天
    tiān

    day / sky / heaven

  • 下
    xià

    down / downwards / below / lower / later / next (week etc) / second (of two parts) / to decline / to go down / to arrive at (a decision, conclusion etc) / measure word to show the frequency of an action

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.