Set Three Articles of Law

Characters:

Pronunciation: yue(1) fa(3) san(1) zhang(1)
Explanation: Meaning to make a clear and simple law for people to easily follow

Tone: Neutral

The Story: In 206 B.C, Liu Bang defeated the Qin Dynasty and occupied its capital Xian Yang. In order to pacify the people and enforce the army, they sealed up all the valuable things in the palace. Liu Bang called up the generals and famous squires in the nation and said, "People suffered a lot from Qin's cruel law. Now I have only announced 3 articles of law. First, hang those who kill people; second, send those who hurt people into prison; third, punish those who steal things." Then Liu Bang appointed people to spread the 'three articles of law' around the country.

Usage Example (Pinyin): Kai(1) hui(4) qian(2) rang(4) wo(3) men(2) yue(1) fa(3) san(1) zhang(1)

Usage Example (English translation): Let's set three articles of law before the meeting.

Note: The spoken Chinese Mandarin language has 4 spoken tones. We have attempted to re-create those above where after each syllable we tell you (1), (2), (3), or (4) as they correspond to each of the 4 tones. We encourage you to complement your Xianzai.com Chinese Idioms newsletter with a good offline study program.