The idiom (chengyu) 杀鸡儆猴, which means “to make an example of someone,” comes up a lot in conversations about politics and the workplace. It describes a circumstance where someone in power treats a subordinate who steps out of line very harshly, in order to demonstrate what will happen to anyone else who tries to misbehave and discourage others from doing the same. Did your boss fire that one uppity employee who refused to comply with the return-to-office mandate, sending everyone else scuttling back into the office without a peep? Did a judge throw the book at a criminal to disincentivize others from committing the same crime? This is the phrase to use to describe those situations.
Key vocab
故意 – gù yì – deliberately, on purpose
我行我素 – wǒ xíng wǒ sù – to do things one’s own way, regardless of others
敲锣 – qiāo luó – to bang a gong
命令 – mìng lìng – to command, order
浑身发抖 – hún shēn fā dǒu – to tremble all over
乖乖 – guāi guāi – obediently, well-behaved
反抗 – fǎn kàng – to resist, rebel
惩罚 – chéng fá – to punish; punishment
警告 – jǐng gào – to warn; warning
杀鸡儆猴
从前，有一个人买了一只猴子，想训练它表演。可是这只猴子非常调皮，怎么教都不听话，主人说什么，它就故意做相反的事。
主人想了很多办法，打也打过，骂也骂过，可是一点用都没有。猴子照样我行我素。
有一天，主人想出了一个主意。他抓来一只公鸡，当着猴子的面，把鸡放在地上，然后大声敲锣。鸡吓得到处乱跑。主人一边敲锣，一边命令鸡：”站住！”鸡当然听不懂，还是乱跑。
主人二话不说，拿起刀，当着猴子的面，把那只鸡杀了。
猴子在旁边看得清清楚楚。它浑身发抖，吓得说不出话来。
从那以后，主人再敲锣，猴子立刻乖乖地按照主人的意思去做，一点也不敢反抗了。
这个故事告诉我们：有些人用惩罚一个人的方法，来吓住其他所有人。这就叫”杀鸡儆猴”。今天，人们常常用这个成语来形容这种做法——通过公开惩罚一个人，来警告一群人。
2 replies on “Idioms: 杀鸡儆猴 – Killing the Chicken to Scare the Monkeys”
Thanks for this!
You bet.