刑房 (xíng fáng) — (noun) ancient official in charge of criminal case files; (noun) ancient torture chamber for interrogation; (noun) criminal prosecution or trial department

Definition

In imperial China, 刑房 could mean either a torture room in a yamen or the bureau handling criminal prosecutions and case files. Choose the sense from context: physical space vs. administrative office.

noun
ancient official in charge of criminal case filesancient torture chamber for interrogationcriminal prosecution or trial department

Examples

  • 刑房。
    Gǔ dài de xíng fáng fù zé zhěng lǐ àn jiàn cái liào hé jì lù kǒu gòng.
    In ancient times, the criminal clerk was responsible for organizing case files and recording confessions.
  • 刑房。
    Yá men de xíng fáng lǐ bǎi mǎn le gè zhǒng kě pà de xíng jù.
    The torture chamber in the yamen was filled with all kinds of terrifying instruments.
  • 刑房，。
    Zhè ge àn jiàn yǐ jīng yí jiāo xíng fáng chǔ lǐ, jìn rù gōng sù jiē duàn.
    This case has been transferred to the criminal prosecution department and has entered the public prosecution phase.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

刑xíngpunishment
房fángroom

刑 means punishment, and 房 is a room, so 刑房 is a room or office for criminal matters.

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
刀刀dāo
Sound part声符shēngfú
井
井jǐng刑xíng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

刑 puts 刀 (knife) beside 井. The knife part shows the punishment idea, and 井 gives the sound.

Open 刑 →

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
戶戶hùdoor
Sound part声符shēngfú
方
方fāng房fáng
Same sound today

房 pairs 戶 (door) with 方 (fāng) as a sound part; 方 can also fit 'side,' as in a side room beside the main room.

Open 房 →

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