📖 Meaning
To cede territory to a stronger power and formally submit as its vassal. It describes a state or ruler surrendering land and sovereignty under pressure, acknowledging subjugation to a foreign force in exchange for survival or peace.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase first appears in Ming dynasty author Feng Menglong's collection 'Stories Old and New' (古今小说), in the chapter titled 'Hu Mu Di Recites Poetry in Fengdu'. In the story, a character offers to act as a spy for the Jin state, vowing that should he ever seize power he would champion peace talks forcing the Southern dynasty to cede territory and submit as a vassal. The idiom thus encapsulates the political act of surrendering land and sovereignty to a superior power. Historically, it echoes the humiliations the Song dynasty repeatedly suffered at the hands of northern regimes such as the Jin.
💡 Example Usage
面对强敌压境，软弱朝廷选择割地称臣以求苟安。
Faced with the enemy at the gates, the weak court chose to cede territory and submit as a vassal in exchange for a fragile peace.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 割地称臣
- Pinyin: gē dì chēng chén
- Literal Translation: cede, land, declare, vassal
- Category: Power
- Characters: 4