二桃殺三士

Chinese

		two	peach	to kill; to murder; to slaughter	three	scholar; warrior; knight
trad. (二桃殺三士)		二	桃	殺	三	士
simp. (二桃杀三士)		二	桃	杀	三	士
Literally: “killing three warriors with two peaches”.

Etymology

Based on a story in Yanzi chunqiu, when Yan Ying, the prime minister of the State of Qi schemed three arrogant and disobedient generals to death by awarding two peaches to the generals who accomplished the most. Conflicts arose and all of them committed suicide under remorse and shame. Compare with the mythology of apple of discord.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): èrtáo shā sānshì

  (Zhuyin): ㄦˋ ㄊㄠˊ ㄕㄚ ㄙㄢ ㄕˋ

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: èrtáo shā sānshì
    • Zhuyin: ㄦˋ ㄊㄠˊ ㄕㄚ ㄙㄢ ㄕˋ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: èrtáo sha sanshìh
    • Wade–Giles: êrh⁴-tʻao² sha¹ san¹-shih⁴
    • Yale: èr-táu shā sān-shr̀
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: elltaur sha sanshyh
    • Palladius: эртао ша саньши (ertao ša sanʹši)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ˀɤɻ⁵¹ tʰɑʊ̯³⁵ ʂä⁵⁵ sän⁵⁵ ʂʐ̩⁵¹/

Idiom

二桃殺三士

1. to kill someone with plot