📖 Meaning
To comfort the kind and innocent while rooting out the cruel and tyrannical. It describes the duty of upright officials or heroes to protect ordinary people from oppression and lawlessness. The phrase emphasizes both protecting the virtuous and punishing evildoers.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom originates from the Song dynasty compilation 'Taiping Guangji' by Li Fang, where it describes the proper duty of officials to eliminate the violent and protect the good. It later became a common theme in classical Chinese knight-errant novels such as 'Sanxia Wuyi' (Three Heroes and Five Gallants), which Lu Xun discussed in his 'A Brief History of Chinese Fiction.' The concept reflects the traditional Chinese ideal of righteous heroes roaming the land to uphold justice on behalf of the people.
💡 Example Usage
这位巡按大人一生安良除暴，深得百姓爱戴。
This imperial inspector spent his life protecting the innocent and eliminating the violent, earning the deep affection of the common people.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 安良除暴
- Pinyin: ān liáng chú bào
- Literal Translation: pacify the good, eliminate the violent
- Category: Morality
- Characters: 4