黔首

qiánshǒu

noun

Meanings

1 (archaic) the common people
2 the masses (esp. in Qin dynasty texts)

Characters

Examples

秦始皇统一天下后称百姓为“黔首”。

Qín Shǐhuáng tǒngyī tiānxià hòu chēng bǎixìng wéi "qiánshǒu".

After unifying the empire, Qin Shi Huang called the common people 'qianshou.'

古书中常用黔首指代普通百姓。

Gǔshū zhōng chángyòng qiánshǒu zhǐdài pǔtōng bǎixìng.

Ancient texts often use 'qianshou' to refer to ordinary people.

Tips

history

Literally 'black heads' — 黔 (qián, black) + 首 (shǒu, head). The Qin (秦) commoners wore black headscarves, distinguishing them from the colored caps of officials. Qin Shi Huang officially adopted 黔首 as the term for the populace in 221 BCE per 《史记·秦始皇本纪》.

Stroke Order

黔 qián

首 shǒu