This idiom, which means “to make an example of someone,” comes up a lot in conversations about power, politics, and the workplace.
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。
Hover a word for its pinyin & meaning; click to pin it.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 调皮 | tiáo pí | naughty, mischievous |
| 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 |
| 从前 | cóng qián | previously; formerly; once upon a time |
| 有 | yǒu | to have; there is; (bound form) having; with; -ful; -ed; -al (as in 有意[you3 yi4] intentional) |
| 一个人 | yī gè rén | by oneself (without assistance); alone (without company) |
| 买 | mǎi | to buy; to purchase |
| 了 | le | (completed action marker); (modal particle indicating change of state, situation now); (modal particle intensifying preceding clause); (bound form) clear in one's mind; to understand clearly |
| 一 | yī | one; single; a (article); as soon as; entire; whole; all; throughout; "one" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 1); also pr. [yao1] for greater clarity when spelling out … |
| 只 | zhī | variant of 隻|只[zhi1]; variant of 只[zhi3]; grain that has begun to ripen; classifier for birds and certain animals, one of a pair, some utensils, vessels etc |
| 猴 | hōu | monkey |
| 子 | zǐ | son; child; seed; egg; small thing; 1st earthly branch: 11 p.m.–1 a.m., midnight, 11th solar month (7th December to 5th January), year of the rat; viscount, fourth of five orders o… |
| 想 | xiǎng | to think (about); to think of; to devise; to think (that); to believe (that); to desire; to want (to); to miss (feel wistful about the absence of) |
| 训 | xǔn | to teach; to train; to admonish |
| 练 | liàn | to practice; to train; to drill; to perfect (one's skill); exercise; (literary) white silk; to boil and scour raw silk |
| 它 | tā | it; it (pronoun for an animal) |
| 表 | biǎo | exterior surface; family relationship via females; to show (one's opinion); a model; a table (listing information); a form; a meter (measuring sth); watch (timepiece); meter; gauge |
| 演 | yǎn | to perform (a play etc); to stage (a show); (bound form) to develop; to play out; to carry out (a task) |
| 可是 | kě shì | but; however; (used for emphasis) indeed |
| 这 | zhè | (pronoun) this; these; (bound form) this; the (followed by a noun); (bound form) this; these (followed by a classifier) (in this sense, commonly pr. [zhei4], esp. in Beijing) |
| 非常 | fēi cháng | very; really; unusual; extraordinary |
| 怎 | zěn | how |
| 么 | má | exclamatory final particle; variant of 麼|么[me5] |
| 教 | Jiào | surname Jiao |
| 都 | Dū | surname Du |
| 不 | bù | no; not so; (bound form) not; un- |
| 听话 | tīng huà | to do what one is told; obedient |
| 主人 | zhǔ rén | owner; host; master |
| 说 | shuì | to persuade; variant of 說|说[shuo1] |
| 什 | shén | what |
| 就 | jìu | (after a suppositional clause) in that case; then; (after a clause of action) as soon as; immediately after; (same as 就是[jiu4 shi4]) merely; nothing else but; simply; just; precise… |
| 做 | zuò | to make; to produce; to write; to compose; to do; to engage in; to hold (a party etc); (of a person) to be (an intermediary, a good student etc); to become (husband and wife, frien… |
| 相反 | xiāng fǎn | opposite; contrary |
| 的 | de | of; ~'s (possessive particle); (used after an attribute when it modifies a noun); (used at the end of a declarative sentence for emphasis); (used after a noun, verb or adjective to… |
| 事 | shì | matter; thing; item; work; affair; CL:件[jian4],樁|桩[zhuang1],回[hui2] |
| 很 | hěn | very; quite; (also, often used before an adjective without intensifying its meaning, i.e. as a meaningless syntactic element) |
| 多 | duō | many; much; more; a lot of; too many; in excess; (after a numeral) ... odd; how (to what extent) (Taiwan pr. [duo2]); (bound form) multi-; poly- |
| 办 | bàn | to take care of (a matter); to deal with (a task, procedure etc); to organize (an event); to establish; to set up; to manage; to run (an enterprise); (law) to handle; to investigat… |
| 法 | fǎ | variant of 法[fa3]; France; French; abbr. for 法國|法国[Fa3 guo2]; Taiwan pr. [Fa4]; old variant of 法[fa3]; law |
| 打 | dá | (loanword) dozen; Taiwan pr. [da3] |
| 也 | Yě | surname Ye |
| 过 | Guō | surname Guo |
| 骂 | mǎ | to scold; to curse |
| 一点 | yī diǎn | a bit; a little bit; (used in negative expressions) (not) the least bit; (after an adjective, used to form the comparative) a bit more, -er; a point (in a discussion etc); (calligr… |
| 用 | yòng | to use; to make use of; to employ; (coverb) with; using; to need; to have to (usu. used in the negative or in questions); usefulness; utility; (bound form) expense; outlay; (courte… |
| 没有 | méi yǒu | haven't; hasn't; doesn't exist; to not have; to not be |
| 照 | zhào | variant of 照[zhao4]; to shine; to illuminate; according to; in accordance with; to shine; to illuminate; to reflect; to look at (one's reflection); to take (a photo); photo; as requested; as before |
| 样 | yàng | manner; pattern; way; appearance; shape; classifier: kind, type |
| 天 | tiān | day; sky; heaven |
| 想出 | xiǎng chū | to figure out; to work out (a solution etc); to think up; to come up with (an idea etc) |
| 一个 | yī ge | a; an; one; the whole (afternoon, summer vacation etc) |
| 主意 | zhǔ yi | plan; idea; decision; CL:個|个[ge4]; Beijing pr. [zhu2 yi5] |
| 他 | tā | (third-person singular) (since the early 20th century, usu. male) he; him; his; (bound form) other; another; some other (as in 他日[ta1 ri4] and 他人[ta1 ren2]) |
| 抓 | zhua | to grab; to arrest; to scratch |
| 来 | lái | to come; (used as a substitute for a more specific verb); hither (directional complement for motion toward the speaker, as in 回來|回来[hui2 lai5]); ever since (as in 自古以來|自古以来[zi4 gu3… |
| 公鸡 | gōng jī | cock; rooster |
| 当着 | dāng zhe | in front of; in the presence of |
| 面 | miàn | face; side; surface; aspect; top; classifier for objects with flat surfaces such as drums, mirrors, flags etc; variant of 麵|面[mian4]; flour; noodles; (of food) soft (not crunchy); (slang) (of a person) ineffectual; spineless |
| 把 | bǎ | to hold; to grasp; to hold a baby in position to help it urinate or defecate; handlebar; classifier: handful, bundle, bunch; classifier for things with handles; (used to put the ob… |
| 鸡 | jī | fowl; chicken; CL:隻|只[zhi1]; (slang) prostitute; variant of 雞|鸡[ji1] |
| 放 | fàng | to put; to place; to release; to free; to let go; to let out; to set off (fireworks) |
| 在 | zài | to exist; to be alive; (of sb or sth) to be (located) at; (used before a verb to indicate an action in progress) |
| 地上 | dì shang | on the ground; on the floor |
| 然 | rán | correct; right; so; thus; like this; -ly |
| 后 | Hòu | surname Hou; back; behind; rear; afterwards; after; later; post- |
| 大声 | dà shēng | loud voice; in a loud voice; loudly |
| 吓 | xiǎ | to scare; to threaten; (interjection showing astonishment) |
| 得到 | dé dào | to get; to obtain; to receive |
| 处 | chǔ | to reside; to live; to dwell; to be in; to be situated at; to stay; to get along with; to be in a position of; to deal with; to discipline; to punish |
| 乱 | luàn | in confusion or disorder; in a confused state of mind; disorder; upheaval; riot; illicit sexual relations; to throw into disorder; to mix up; indiscriminate; random; arbitrary |
| 跑 | páo | (of an animal) to paw (the ground) |
| 一边 | yī biān | one side; either side; on the one hand; on the other hand; doing while |
| 站 | zhàn | station; to stand; to halt; to stop; branch of a company or organization; website |
| 住 | zhù | to live; to reside; to stay; to stop; to cease; (result complement indicating firmness or a stable achieved state) |
| 当然 | dāng rán | only natural; as it should be; certainly; of course; without doubt |
| 听 | yǐn | smile (archaic); to listen to; to hear; to heed; to obey; a can (loanword from English "tin"); classifier for canned beverages; to let be; to allow (Taiwan pr. [ting4]); (literary) to administer; t… |
| 懂 | dǒng | to understand; to comprehend |
| 还是 | hái shi | still (as before); had better; unexpectedly; or |
| 二话 | èr huà | objection; differing opinion |
| 拿起 | ná qǐ | to pick up |
| 刀 | Dāo | surname Dao |
| 那 | Nā | surname Na |
| 杀 | shā | to kill; to slay; to murder; to attack; to weaken; to reduce; (dialect) to smart; (used after a verb) extremely |
| 旁边 | páng biān | side; adjacent place |
| 看 | kān | to look after; to take care of; to watch; to guard |
| 得 | dé | to obtain; to get; to gain; to catch (a disease); proper; suitable; proud; contented; to allow; to permit; ready; finished |
| 清 | Qīng | Qing (Wade-Giles: Ch'ing) dynasty of China (1644–1911); surname Qing |
| 楚 | Chǔ | surname Chu; abbr. for Hubei 湖北省[Hu2 bei3 Sheng3] and Hunan 湖南省[Hu2 nan2 Sheng3] provinces together; Chinese kingdom during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods (722–22… |
| 说不出 | shuō bu chū | unable to say |
| 话 | huà | dialect; language; spoken words; speech; talk; words; conversation; what sb said; CL:種|种[zhong3],席[xi2],句[ju4],口[kou3],番[fan1]; old variant of 話|话[hua4] |
| 从 | cóng | variant of 從|从[cong2]; surname Cong |
| 以 | yǐ | old variant of 以[yi3]; abbr. for Israel 以色列[Yi3 se4 lie4] |
| 再 | zài | again; once more; re-; further; beyond this point of time; (before an adjective) more; then (after sth, and not until then); no matter how ... (followed by an adjective or verb, an… |
| 立刻 | lì kè | immediately; at once; right away |
| 地 | de | -ly; structural particle: used before a verb or adjective, linking it to preceding modifying adverbial adjunct |
| 按 | ǎn | to press; to leave aside or shelve; to restrain; to check or refer to; in the light of |
| 意思 | yì si | idea; opinion; meaning; wish; desire; interest; fun; token of appreciation, affection etc; CL:個|个[ge4]; to give as a small token; to do sth as a gesture of goodwill etc |
| 去 | qù | to go; to go to (a place); (of a time etc) last; just passed; to send; to remove; to get rid of; to reduce; to be apart from in space or time; to die (euphemism); to play (a part);… |
| 敢 | gǎn | to dare; daring; (polite) may I venture |
| 这个 | zhè ge | (pronoun) this; (adjective) this |
| 故事 | gù shì | old practice |
| 告 | gào | (bound form) to say; to tell; to announce; to report; to denounce; to file a lawsuit; to sue |
| 诉 | sù | variant of 訴|诉[su4]; to complain; to sue; to tell |
| 我 | wǒ | I; me; my |
| 们 | men | plural marker for pronouns, and nouns referring to individuals |
| 有些人 | yǒu xiē rén | some people |
| 方 | Fāng | surname Fang |
| 其 | qí | his; her; its; their; that; such; it (refers to sth preceding it) |
| 所有人 | suǒ yǒu rén | everyone; owner |
| 这就 | zhè jìu | immediately; at once |
| 叫 | jiào | to shout; to call; to order; to ask; to be called; by (indicates agent in the passive mood); variant of 叫[jiao4] |
| 儆 | ||
| 今天 | jīn tiān | today; the present time; now |
| 人 | rén | person; people; CL:個|个[ge4],位[wei4],名[ming2] |
| 常常 | cháng cháng | frequently; often |
| 成语 | chéng yǔ | Chinese set expression, typically of 4 characters, often alluding to a story or historical quotation; idiom; proverb; saying; adage; CL:條|条[tiao2],本[ben3],句[ju4] |
| 形容 | xíng róng | to describe; (literary) countenance; appearance |
| 这种 | zhè zhǒng | this kind of |
| 通过 | tōng guò | to pass through; to get through; to adopt (a resolution); to pass (legislation); to pass (a test); by means of; through; via |
| 公开 | gōng kāi | open; overt; public; to make public; to release |
| 群 | qún | variant of 群[qun2]; group; crowd; flock, herd, pack etc |
Once upon a time, there was a man who bought a monkey, hoping to train it to perform. But this monkey was extremely naughty; no matter how he taught it, it wouldn’t obey. Whatever the master said, it would deliberately do the opposite.
The master thought of many methods. He had beaten it and scolded it, but none of it was any use at all. The monkey continued to do exactly as it pleased.
One day, the master came up with an idea. He grabbed a rooster, and in front of the monkey, placed the chicken on the ground, then loudly banged a gong. The chicken was so frightened that it ran around everywhere. As the master banged the gong, he commanded the chicken: “Stop!” The chicken of course couldn’t understand, and kept running around wildly.
Without a word, the master picked up a knife and, in front of the monkey, killed that chicken.
The monkey watched clearly from the side. Its whole body trembled, and it was so frightened it couldn’t speak.
From then on, whenever the master banged the gong, the monkey immediately and obediently did as the master wished, not daring to resist at all.
This story tells us: some people use the method of punishing one person to scare all the others. This is called “killing the chicken to scare the monkey.” Today, people often use this idiom to describe this kind of practice—warning a group of people by publicly punishing one person.