千乘

Chinese

		thousand	ride; mount; make use of ride; mount; make use of; take advantage of; multiply; to avail of; to ride
trad. (千乘)		千	乘
simp. ^#(千乘)		千	乘

Etymology

In Western Zhou-era China (early first millennium B.C.E.), the 天子 (tiānzǐ, “Son of Heaven”) was described as commanding 萬乘／万乘 (wànshèng, “ten thousand chariots”) while his immediate vassals only commanded a thousand, so "thousand chariots" is used to imply a subordinate vassal.

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): qiānshèng

(Zhuyin): ㄑㄧㄢㄕㄥˋ

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: qiānshèng
  - Zhuyin: ㄑㄧㄢㄕㄥˋ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: cianshèng
  - Wade–Giles: chʻien¹-shêng⁴
  - Yale: chyān-shèng
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: chianshenq
  - Palladius: цяньшэн (cjanʹšɛn)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡ɕʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵ ʂɤŋ⁵¹/

Noun

千乘

(literary, historical) one thousand horse-drawn chariots
(literary, historical) vassal subject to the Son of Heaven
- 左海雖僻，國亦千乘；羅麗雖儉，民多美俗。 [Korean Literary Sinitic, trad.]
  From: 〈嬰處稿序〉, 《燕巖集》, Bak Jiwon, 1700s
  좌해수벽^(이나) 국역천승^(이요) 나려수검^(이나) 민다미속^(이라)
  Jwahae su byeog[-ina], gug yeok cheonseung[-iyo]; Na Ryeo su geom[-ina], min da misog[-ira]. [Sino-Korean]
  Though Korea is remote, it is still a kingdom [lit. state of one thousand chariots]; though Silla and Goryeo were modest of means, their people had many good customs.

Derived terms

千乘萬騎／千乘万骑 (qiānshèngwànqí)

Proper noun

千乘

Qiansheng (ancient place name, located in modern-day Gaoqing County, Shandong province, China)

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