📖 Meaning
A tyrannical ruler who has lost all popular support and commits grave crimes against the nation and its people. '独夫' denotes a sovereign deserted by all followers, while '民贼' means a scourge that harms the common people. The phrase is used to condemn despotic leaders who bring suffering upon those they rule.
📜 Origin Story
The term draws from two classical sources. In the 'Shangshu' (Book of Documents), chapter 'Taishi Xia', King Wu of Zhou branded Di Xin (King Zhou of Shang, called 受) as '独夫受' — a lone, abandoned man — to justify his campaign against the tyrant. Mencius, in 'Gaozi Xia' of his eponymous work, contrasted so-called 'good ministers' of his day with those of antiquity, declaring such men were what the ancients called '民贼', scourges of the people. Combined, the idiom targets rulers who govern without moral legitimacy and ruin their subjects.
💡 Example Usage
独夫民贼终将被历史所唾弃。
A tyrant who oppresses his people will ultimately be condemned by history.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 独夫民贼
- Pinyin: dú fū mín zéi
- Literal Translation: lone man, people's thief
- Category: Power
- Characters: 4