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尚方寶劍

简尚方宝剑 · 繁尚方寶劍

Mandarin · pinyin shàng fāng bǎo jiàn

variant of 尚方劍 shàng fāng jiàn
imperial sword (giving bearer arbitrary powers)
in fiction, Chinese version of 007's license to kill

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Characters in this entry

尚: shàng · still, yet; even; fairly, rather
方: fāng · a square, rectangle; a region; local
寶: Look up this written character
劍: Look up this written character
宝: bǎo · treasure, jewel; precious, rare
剑: jiàn · sword, dagger, saber

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

4–1–3–4 · shang4 fang1 bao3 jian4

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4character links1same-tone record1source reference

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

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尚方寶劍 · find source passages ↗ · 尚方宝剑 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 2 senses

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

noun

(historical) imperial sword
a permission allowing someone to exercise another person's power arbitrarily (or something certifying this permission)

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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