自宫

自宮
zìgōng
verb

Meanings

  1. 1 to castrate oneself
  2. 2 to self-castrate

Examples

Chuánshuō zhōng, liàn nà mén wǔgōng bìxū xiān zìgōng.
Legend has it that to practice that martial art one must first castrate oneself.
Tā yòng zìgōng lái bǐyù wèi dá mùdì bùxī zì cán.
He used 'self-castration' as a metaphor for self-mutilating to reach a goal.

Tips

culture
Strongly associated with Jin Yong's 江湖 (Xiào Ào Jiānghú, The Smiling, Proud Wanderer): the 宝典 (Kuíhuā Bǎodiǎn, 'Sunflower Manual') famously opens with the line 神功自宫 ('to master this divine skill, first castrate yourself'). The phrase is now a meme for absurd, painful prerequisites.
register
A graphic, literal verb. Outside the Jin Yong reference and historical/medical contexts, it shows up mostly online as dark humor. Use carefully — it is not euphemistic.

Stroke Order

gōng