杀青 (shāqīng): to wrap up (a film or book)

Meanings

1 to wrap up (a film or book)
2 to complete (a production)
3 to kill-green (a tea processing step)

Characters

杀

Examples

这部电影终于杀青了，历时三年拍摄。

Zhè bù diànyǐng zhōngyú shāqīng le, lìshí sān nián pāishè.

This film has finally wrapped up after three years of filming.

新书今天杀青，作者松了一口气。

Xīn shū jīntiān shāqīng, zuòzhě sōng le yī kǒuqì.

The new book was completed today, and the author breathed a sigh of relief.

Tips

history

Originally a step in processing green tea: heating fresh leaves to deactivate enzymes and stop oxidation (literally 'killing the green'). The term was extended to mean completing a manuscript (bamboo slips were once cured by fire) and later became the standard term for finishing a film shoot.