諺語 · a single proverb
殺一儆百
What does 殺一儆百 (shā yī jǐng bǎi) mean?
殺一儆百 (shā yī jǐng bǎi) is a four-character classical idiom (chéngyǔ 成語). Word for word it reads "execute one to warn a hundred." In use it means: Make an example of one to deter many others; use a single severe case to prevent broader problems. You reach for it when you want that idea in one breath, and the Metal note it carries is why we hand it to those born in the Year of the Tiger.
Literally: "execute one to warn a hundred."
The reading
The single clear consequence, made visible to the many, does the work that a hundred private warnings could not. This is not cruelty but the economics of attention: the one case that becomes the lesson saves the hundred cases that would otherwise require the same lesson at greater cost. Examples are how standards become real.
What kind of proverb it is
Source Han Shu 漢書·尹翁歸傳 (Yǐn Wēngguī biography)
Sits beside
Keep reading
Return to the Proverb Pond to draw another of the eighty-seven, or hear one read aloud. Read the rest of its chapter in Courage & Decisive Action, or follow the years these lines belong to: Year of the Tiger, Year of the Ox, and Year of the Rat.
Questions
Is 殺一儆百 a real Chinese proverb?
Yes. 殺一儆百 (shā yī jǐng bǎi) is a four-character classical idiom (chéngyǔ 成語), and it comes from Han Shu 漢書·尹翁歸傳 (Yǐn Wēngguī biography). It is living Chinese heritage, given here with per-character pinyin and its source so you can trust the line, not a phrase invented in English.
How do you pronounce 殺一儆百?
In Mandarin it is shā yī jǐng bǎi. Read the pinyin above each character to follow the tones, or press the speaker beside the calligraphy to hear your browser read 殺一儆百 aloud in Mandarin.