📖 Meaning
This idiom refers to using one's power and influence to tyrannize and dominate the local community. It describes powerful figures who oppress common people and act lawlessly in their hometowns, relying on force rather than law to settle matters.
📜 Origin Story
This phrase originates from Sima Qian's 'Records of the Grand Historian' (史记), in the chapter 'Treatise on the Balanced Standard' (平准书). It describes social conditions during the early Han Dynasty when laws were lax and the people prospered. Wealthy and powerful families, grown arrogant from their riches, began seizing land and dominating their local communities through force and intimidation. The term '武断' means to arbitrarily impose one's will by force, while '乡曲' refers to rural localities away from the capital.
💡 Example Usage
那些豪强地主武断乡曲，欺压百姓，令人深恶痛绝。
Those powerful landlords tyrannized the local community and oppressed the common people, arousing deep hatred.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 武断乡曲
- Pinyin: wǔ duàn xiāng qū
- Literal Translation: use force, arbitrarily decide, village, locality
- Category: Power
- Characters: 4