除暴安良

chúbào-ānliáng
idiom #34,507

Meanings

  1. 1 to root out the violent and bring peace to the good
  2. 2 to fight evil and protect the innocent

Examples

Xiákè yǐ chúbào-ānliáng wéi jǐrèn.
Knights-errant take fighting evil and protecting the innocent as their duty.
Jǐngchá de zhízé jiùshì chúbào-ānliáng.
The duty of police is to root out violence and bring peace to the good.

Tips

history
Recorded in Song-dynasty 《太平广记》 by - '职责在乎除暴安良' ('a duty consists in rooting out violence and pacifying the good'). It became the stock motto of 武侠 heroes in fiction.
usage
Mirror structure: 除暴 'remove violence' + 安良 'pacify the good'. Modern use covers police work, vigilante heroes, and even corporate 'cleaning house' - but always with a moral, not bureaucratic, tone.

Stroke Order

chú
bào
ān
liáng