射人先射馬,擒賊先擒王
Chinese
radio- (chem.); shoot | man; person; people | early; prior; former early; prior; former; in advance; first | radio- (chem.); shoot | horse; surname | capture | thief | early; prior; former early; prior; former; in advance; first | capture | king; Wang (proper name) | |||
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trad. (射人先射馬,擒賊先擒王) | 射 | 人 | 先 | 射 | 馬 | , | 擒 | 賊 | 先 | 擒 | 王 | |
simp. (射人先射马,擒贼先擒王) | 射 | 人 | 先 | 射 | 马 | , | 擒 | 贼 | 先 | 擒 | 王 | |
Literally: “To shoot a rider, first shoot the horse; to catch a thief, first capture the king”. |
Etymology
A line from the poem 《前出塞·其六》 by the Tang Dynasty poet Du Fu.
Pronunciation
Proverb
射人先射馬,擒賊先擒王
- defeat the enemy by capturing their chief
Derived terms
- → Japanese: 人を射んとせばまず馬を射よ (hito o in to seba mazu uma o iyo) (calque)