招安 (zhāo ān) — to pacify rebels by offering them amnesty and official positions

Definition

A formal, historical verb: a government grants amnesty and official rank to rebels so they surrender and serve the state — most famously in classic novels like 《水浒传》.

verb
to pacify rebels by offering them amnesty and official positions

Examples

  • 招安。
    Cháo tíng jué dìng duì zhè zhī yì jūn jìn xíng zhāo ān.
    The imperial court decided to offer amnesty to this rebel army.
  • 招安。
    Lì shǐ shàng sòng jiāng bèi zhāo ān de gù shi hěn zhù míng.
    The story of Song Jiang being granted amnesty is very famous in history.
  • ，。
    Zhèng fǔ zhāo le yí cì ān, dàn pàn jūn jù jué le.
    The government offered amnesty once, but the rebels refused.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

招zhāorecruit
安ānpacify

Recruiting and pacifying together describe offering amnesty to rebels.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
扌Written in full as手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
召
召zhào招zhāo
Same sound today

招 pairs 扌, the hand part, with 召, which gives the sound, to show beckoning with the hand.

Open 招 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
宀宀mián
Sound part声符shēngfú
女
女nǚ安ān
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 安, 宀 sits above a seated 女 on a cushion; 宀 is the meaning part, 女 is the sound part, and the character originally meant sitting at ease.

Open 安 →

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