亂臣賊子

Chinese

		renegade minister; traitorous government minister
trad. (亂臣賊子)		亂臣	賊子
simp. (乱臣贼子)		乱臣	贼子

Etymology

From Mencius:

孔子成《春秋》，而亂臣賊子懼。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]

孔子成《春秋》，而乱臣贼子惧。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

From: Mencius, c. 4^th century BCE

Kǒngzǐ chéng “chūnqiū”, ér luànchénzéizǐ jù. [Pinyin]

Confucius completed the "Spring and Autumn," and rebellious ministers and villainous sons were struck with terror.

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): luànchénzéizǐ

(Zhuyin): ㄌㄨㄢˋ ㄔㄣˊ ㄗㄟˊ ㄗˇ
Cantonese (Jyutping): lyun⁶ san⁴ caak⁶ zi²

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: luànchénzéizǐ
  - Zhuyin: ㄌㄨㄢˋ ㄔㄣˊ ㄗㄟˊ ㄗˇ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: luànchénzéizǐh
  - Wade–Giles: luan⁴-chʻên²-tsei²-tzŭ³
  - Yale: lwàn-chén-dzéi-dž
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: luanncherntzeirtzyy
  - Palladius: луаньчэньцзэйцзы (luanʹčɛnʹczɛjczy)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /lu̯än⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂʰən³⁵ t͡seɪ̯³⁵ t͡sz̩²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
  - Jyutping: lyun⁶ san⁴ caak⁶ zi²
  - Yale: lyuhn sàhn chaahk jí
  - Cantonese Pinyin: lyn⁶ san⁴ tsaak⁹ dzi²
  - Guangdong Romanization: lün⁶ sen⁴ cag⁶ ji²
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /lyːn²² sɐn²¹ t͡sʰaːk̚² t͡siː³⁵/

Idiom

亂臣賊子

rebellious minister disloyal to the monarch
- 雖說孔子作《春秋》而亂臣賊子懼，然而現在的人們，卻幾乎誰也不知道一個筆伐了的亂臣賊子的名字。說到亂臣賊子，大概以為是曹操，但那並非聖人所教，卻是寫了小說和劇本的無名作家所教的。 [MSC, trad.]
  虽说孔子作《春秋》而乱臣贼子惧，然而现在的人们，却几乎谁也不知道一个笔伐了的乱臣贼子的名字。说到乱臣贼子，大概以为是曹操，但那并非圣人所教，却是写了小说和剧本的无名作家所教的。 [MSC, simp.]
  From: 1935 魯迅 (Lu Xun),《在現代中國的孔夫子》
  Suīshuō Kǒngzǐ zuò “Chūnqiū” ér luànchénzéizǐ jù, rán'ér xiànzài de rénmen, què jīhū shéi yě bù zhīdào yīge bǐfá le de luànchénzéizǐ de míngzì. Shuōdào luànchénzéizǐ, dàgài yǐwéi shì Cáocāo, dàn nà bìngfēi shèngrén suǒ jiāo, quèshì xiě le xiǎoshuō hé jùběn de wúmíng zuòjiā suǒ jiāo de. [Pinyin]
  Though (Mencius said) turbulent ministers and treacherous sons were sore afraid when Confucius wrote The Spring and Autumn Annals, nowadays practically no one could tell you the names of those turbulent ministers and treacherous sons who fell to that verbal foray. Mention of “turbulent ministers and treacherous sons” would probably suggest Cao Cao to most people, but that view of him was formed by anonymous authors of novels and plays, not by the sage.