挾天子以令諸侯

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Chinese

clasp under the arm; coerce; hold between Son of Heaven; emperor
to use; according to; so as to
to use; according to; so as to; in order to; by; with; because; Israel (abbrev.)
 
make or cause to be; order; command
make or cause to be; order; command; decree; honourable
 
 feudal lord; feudal vassal; member of the Chinese nobility
trad. (挾天子以令諸侯) 挾 天子 以 令 諸侯
simp. (挟天子以令诸侯) 挟 天子 以 令 诸侯

Etymology

Similar phrases originate from the Warring States period, when Zhang Yi argued for the plan of

誅周王之罪…挾天子以令於天下，天下莫敢不聽，此王業也。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
诛周王之罪…挟天子以令于天下，天下莫敢不听，此王业也。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]
From: The Records of the Grand Historian, by Sima Qian, c. 91 BCE
Zhū Zhōuwáng zhī zuì... Xié tiānzǐ yǐ lìng yú tiānxià, tiānxià mò gǎn bùtīng, cǐ wáng yè yě.
To punish the crimes of the King of Zhou... to control the Son of Heaven and give orders to the world (in his name), so that none dare to disobey — this is a king's proper endeavour.

This was later used to by Ju Shou in his advice to Yuan Shao:

挾天子而令諸侯，蓄士馬以討不庭，誰能禦之？ [Literary Chinese, trad.]
挟天子而令诸侯，蓄士马以讨不庭，谁能御之？ [Literary Chinese, simp.]
From: The Book of the Later Han, circa 5th century CE
Xié tiānzǐ ér lìng zhūhóu, xù shìmǎ yǐ tǎo bùtíng, shéi néng yù zhī?
To command the noble princes in the name of the Emperor, while amassing men and horses to attack those who would dare to disobey — who can withstand this?

However, it was probably Cao Cao who was the best known for the pattern of action referred to by the phrase, which was attested with slight variations in the Records of the Three Kingdoms and made widely popular by the historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms based on the former.

Pronunciation

Phrase

挾天子以令諸侯

  1. to control the emperor to command the nobles
  2. (figuratively) to assume de facto control of the de jure legitimate government; to be the power behind the throne; to be the éminence grise
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