挾天子以令諸侯

Chinese

		clasp under the arm; coerce; hold between	Son of Heaven; emperor	to use; according to; so as to to use; according to; so as to; in order to; by; with; because; Israel (abbrev.)	make or cause to be; order; command make or cause to be; order; command; decree; honourable	feudal lord; feudal vassal; member of the Chinese nobility
trad. (挾天子以令諸侯)		挾	天子	以	令	諸侯
simp. (挟天子以令诸侯)		挟	天子	以	令	诸侯

Etymology

Similar phrases originate from the Warring States period, when Zhang Yi argued for the plan of

誅周王之罪…挾天子以令於天下，天下莫敢不聽，此王業也。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]

诛周王之罪…挟天子以令于天下，天下莫敢不听，此王业也。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

From: The Records of the Grand Historian, by Sima Qian, c. 91 BCE

Zhū Zhōuwáng zhī zuì... Xié tiānzǐ yǐ lìng yú tiānxià, tiānxià mò gǎn bùtīng, cǐ wáng yè yě. [Pinyin]

To punish the crimes of the King of Zhou... to control the Son of Heaven and give orders to the world (in his name), so that none dare to disobey — this is a king's proper endeavour.

This was later used to by Ju Shou in his advice to Yuan Shao:

挾天子而令諸侯，蓄士馬以討不庭，誰能禦之？ [Literary Chinese, trad.]

挟天子而令诸侯，蓄士马以讨不庭，谁能御之？ [Literary Chinese, simp.]

From: The Book of the Later Han, circa 5^th century CE

Xié tiānzǐ ér lìng zhūhóu, xù shìmǎ yǐ tǎo bùtíng, shéi néng yù zhī? [Pinyin]

To command the noble princes in the name of the Emperor, while amassing men and horses to attack those who would dare to disobey — who can withstand this?

However, it was probably Cao Cao who was the best known for the pattern of action referred to by the phrase, which was attested with slight variations in the Records of the Three Kingdoms and made widely popular by the historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms based on the former.

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): xié tiānzǐ yǐ lìng zhūhóu

(Zhuyin): ㄒㄧㄝˊ ㄊㄧㄢㄗˇ ㄧˇ ㄌㄧㄥˋ ㄓㄨㄏㄡˊ
Cantonese (Jyutping): hip⁶ tin¹ zi² ji⁵ ling⁶ zyu¹ hau⁴

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: xié tiānzǐ yǐ lìng zhūhóu [Phonetic: xiétiānzíyǐlìngzhūhóu]
  - Zhuyin: ㄒㄧㄝˊ ㄊㄧㄢㄗˇ ㄧˇ ㄌㄧㄥˋ ㄓㄨㄏㄡˊ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: sié tianzǐh yǐ lìng jhuhóu
  - Wade–Giles: hsieh² tʻien¹-tzŭ³ i³ ling⁴ chu¹-hou²
  - Yale: syé tyān-dž yǐ lìng jū-hóu
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: shye tiantzyy yii linq juhour
  - Palladius: се тяньцзы и лин чжухоу (se tjanʹczy i lin čžuxou)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /ɕi̯ɛ³⁵ tʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵ t͡sz̩²¹⁴⁻³⁵ i²¹⁴⁻²¹ liŋ⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂu⁵⁵ xoʊ̯³⁵/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
  - Jyutping: hip⁶ tin¹ zi² ji⁵ ling⁶ zyu¹ hau⁴
  - Yale: hihp tīn jí yíh lihng jyū hàuh
  - Cantonese Pinyin: hip⁹ tin¹ dzi² ji⁵ ling⁶ dzy¹ hau⁴
  - Guangdong Romanization: hib⁶ tin¹ ji² yi⁵ ling⁶ ju¹ heo⁴
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /hiːp̚² tʰiːn⁵⁵ t͡siː³⁵ jiː¹³ lɪŋ²² t͡syː⁵⁵ hɐu̯²¹/

Phrase

挾天子以令諸侯

to control the emperor to command the nobles
(figuratively) to assume de facto control of the de jure legitimate government; to be the power behind the throne; to be the éminence grise