碧血

bìxuè
noun #92,471

Meanings

  1. 1 blood shed in a just cause
  2. 2 blood of a martyr

Examples

HSK 7-9
Gémìng xiānliè de bìxuè rǎn hóng le zhè piàn tǔdì.
The martyrs' righteous blood stained this land red.
HSK 7-9
Tā yòng bìxuè dānxīn bàoxiào guójiā.
With righteous blood and a loyal heart, he served his country.

Tips

history
From the 庄子 (Zhuangzi) story of Chang Hong 苌弘, a loyal Zhou minister wrongly executed; his blood, buried for three years, was said to turn into 碧玉 (bìyù, jade-green stone). 碧血 became literary shorthand for unjust death in service of righteousness.
register
Strongly literary and elevated. You will see it on monuments, in eulogies, and in the fixed phrase 碧血丹心 (bìxuè dānxīn, righteous blood and loyal heart), not in everyday speech.

Stroke Order

xuè