DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

挾天子以令天下

简挟天子以令天下 · 繁挾天子以令天下

Mandarin · pinyin xié tiān zǐ yǐ lìng tiān xià

(expr.) hold the feudal overlord and you control the whole country

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Characters in this entry

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天: tiān · sky, heaven; god, celestial
子: zǐ · offspring, child; fruit, seed of; first earthly branch
以: yǐ · by means of; thereby, therefore; consider as; in order to
令: lìng · command, order; 'commandant', magistrate; allow, cause
下: xià · under, underneath, below; down; inferior; bring down
挟: xié · clasp under arm; hold to bosom

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Mandarin tones

2–1–3–3–4–1–4 · xie2 tian1 zi3 yi3 ling4 tian1 xia4

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