宰衡

Chinese

		slaughter; butcher; govern slaughter; butcher; govern; rule; official	to weigh; weight; measure
simp. and trad. (宰衡)		宰	衡

Etymology

Likely coined by Wang Mang 4 CE as one of the titles he manipulated the Han imperial court to bestow upon himself. The Book of Han implies that the title derives from 太宰, a title of the Duke of Zhou, and 阿衡, variously interpreted as a title, styled name, or personal name of Yi Yin. As a compound, it carries the notation of "to rule; to arbitrate; to make decisions".

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): zǎihéng

  (Zhuyin): ㄗㄞˇ ㄏㄥˊ

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: zǎihéng
    • Zhuyin: ㄗㄞˇ ㄏㄥˊ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: zǎihéng
    • Wade–Giles: tsai³-hêng²
    • Yale: dzǎi-héng
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: tzaeherng
    • Palladius: цзайхэн (czajxɛn)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡saɪ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ xɤŋ³⁵/

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• Middle Chinese: tsojX haeng

Rime
Character	宰	衡
Reading #	1/1	1/1
Initial (聲)	精 (13)	匣 (33)
Final (韻)	咍 (41)	庚 (109)
Tone (調)	Rising (X)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open	Open
Division (等)	I	II
Fanqie	作亥切	戸庚切
Baxter	tsojX	haeng
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/t͡sʌiX/	/ɦˠæŋ/
Pan Wuyun	/t͡səiX/	/ɦᵚaŋ/
Shao Rongfen	/t͡sɒiX/	/ɣaŋ/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/t͡səjX/	/ɦaɨjŋ/
Li Rong	/t͡sᴀiX/	/ɣɐŋ/
Wang Li	/t͡sɒiX/	/ɣɐŋ/
Bernhard Karlgren	/t͡sɑ̆iX/	/ɣɐŋ/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	zǎi	héng
Expected Cantonese Reflex	zoi2	hang4

• Old Chinese

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*[ts]ˤəʔ  [ɡ]ˤraŋ/

  (Zhengzhang): /*ʔsɯːʔ  ɡraːŋ/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	宰	衡
Reading #	1/1	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	zǎi	héng
Middle Chinese	‹ tsojX ›	‹ hæng ›
Old Chinese	/*[ts]ˁəʔ/	/*[ɡ]ˁraŋ/
English	steward; minister	beam of a steelyard
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence; * Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. *[t] as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p; * Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix; * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary; * Period "." indicates syllable boundary.

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	宰	衡
Reading #	1/1	1/1
No.	16506	13868
Phonetic component	宰	行
Rime group	之	陽
Rime subdivision	0	0
Corresponding MC rime	宰	行
Old Chinese	/*ʔsɯːʔ/	/*ɡraːŋ/

Noun

宰衡

1. (literary and archaic, sometimes derogatory) political heavyweight; grandee; a great officer of the state

   • 宰衡以干戈為兒戲，縉紳以清談為廟略。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     宰衡以干戈为儿戏，缙绅以清谈为庙略。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: c. 578, Yu Xin (庾信), The Lament for the South (《哀江南賦》)

     Zǎihéng yǐ gāngē wéi érxì, jìnshēn yǐ qīngtán wéi miàolüè. [Pinyin]

     The powerful toyed with dangers of war;
     The elite played statesmen with empty words.

Usage notes

Due to its association with Wang Mang, it is sometimes used to express veiled or open disgust.