劳教 (láo jiào) — to subject (someone) to reeducation through labor (historical Chinese administrative detention)

Definition

Short for 劳动教养, a now-abolished administrative detention where people (usually minor offenders) were sent to a labor camp without a criminal trial. It was formally abolished by the National People's Congress in 2013.

verb
to subject (someone) to reeducation through labor (historical Chinese administrative detention)

Examples

  • 劳教。
    Tā zài èr shí nián qián yīn wèi dǎo mài chē piào bèi láo jiào le sān nián.
    He was subjected to reeducation through labor for three years twenty years ago for scalping tickets.
  • 劳教2013。
    láo jiào Zhì dù zài 2013 nián bèi quán guó rén dà zhèng shì fèi zhǐ le.
    The reeducation-through-labor system was formally abolished by the National People's Congress in 2013.
  • ，劳教。
    Nà duàn lì shǐ lǐ, bèi sòng qù láo jiào de rén dà duō shì qīng wēi wéi fǎ zhě.
    In that period of history, most people sent to reeducation through labor were minor offenders.

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.

劳láolabor
教jiàoeducate

劳 means labor and 教 means educate, giving the sense of education through labor.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 勞; 劳 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
力力lì
Sound part声符shēngfú
𬡤
𬡤𬡤勞láo
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 勞 uses 力 for the meaning and 𬡤 for the sound; the simplified 劳 is a later shortened shape.

Open 劳 →

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
子子zǐchild
攵Written in full as攴pūteaching cane; stick that represents authority
Sound part声符shēngfú
爻
爻yáo教jiào
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

教 uses 爻 for its sound and puts 子 (child) with 攵 (攴), a teaching cane, to show teaching a child.

Open 教 →

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