📖 Meaning
To take by force and plunder through brute coercion. It describes the behavior of powerful individuals or authorities who use violence and tyranny to rob others of their wealth and property.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom originates from the Song Dynasty scholar Su Shi's essay 'Ce Duan Shang' (Strategies, Part One). Su Shi warned that when state revenue falls short, the government raises taxes on the people, and when even relentless taxation proves insufficient, rulers would inevitably resort to violent seizure and forceful plundering to fill the treasury. The phrase was a critique of tyrannical governance that exploits and oppresses the populace through coercive means.
💡 Example Usage
地主豪绅对百姓暴取豪夺，激起了民众的强烈反抗。
The landlords and local gentry plundered the common people by force, provoking fierce popular resistance.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 暴取豪夺
- Pinyin: bào qǔ háo duó
- Literal Translation: violent, take, powerful, seize
- Category: Power
- Characters: 4