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歃血為盟

简歃血为盟 · 繁歃血為盟

Mandarin · pinyin shà xuè wéi méng

to smear the lips with blood when taking an oath (idiom)
to swear a sacred oath

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Characters in this entry

歃: shà · smear one's mouth with blood of a victim when taking an oath
血: xuè · blood; Kangxi radical 143
為: Look up this written character
盟: méng · swear; oath, covenant, alliance
为: wèi · do, handle, govern, act; be

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Mandarin tones

4–4–2–2 · sha4 xue4 wei2 meng2

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

歃血為盟 · find source passages ↗ · 歃血为盟 · find source passages ↗

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

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

phrase

(idiomatic) to smear the lips with blood when taking an oath

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

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