州官放火

州官放火

Chinese

		province; prefecture; state province; prefecture; state; county	official; government; organ of body	to set on fire, specifically to commit arson
simp. and trad. (州官放火)		州	官	放火

Etymology

Literally: the prefectural official sets fires (but the common citizens are not allowed to light their lamps)

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): zhōuguān-fànghuǒ

  (Zhuyin): ㄓㄡ ㄍㄨㄢ ㄈㄤˋ ㄏㄨㄛˇ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): zau¹ gun¹ fong³ fo²

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Pinyin: zhōuguān-fànghuǒ
    • Zhuyin: ㄓㄡ ㄍㄨㄢ ㄈㄤˋ ㄏㄨㄛˇ
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: jouguanfanqhuuo
    • IPA ^(key): /ʈ͡ʂoʊ̯⁵⁵ ku̯än⁵⁵ fɑŋ⁵¹ xu̯ɔ²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)⁺
    • Jyutping: zau¹ gun¹ fong³ fo²
    • Yale: jāu gūn fong fó
    • Cantonese Pinyin: dzau¹ gun¹ fong³ fo²
    • Guangdong Romanization: zeo¹ gun¹ fong³ fo²
    • IPA ^(key): /t͡sɐu̯⁵⁵ kuːn⁵⁵ fɔːŋ³³ fɔː³⁵/

Idiom

州官放火

1. a tyrant boss or leader can do whatever he likes, but the common people are not allowed the slightest bit of freedom

Synonyms

• 只許州官放火，不許百姓點燈／只许州官放火，不许百姓点灯 (zhǐ xǔ zhōuguān fànghuǒ, bùxǔ bǎixìng diǎndēng)