Eup-cham-ma-sok

泣

울 읍

斬

벨 참

馬

말 마

謖

일어날 속

Character by character

Meaning

Beheading Ma Su in tears — holding to the rule despite personal feeling.

Origin

From the Records of the Three Kingdoms: Zhuge Liang executed Ma Su for disobeying orders, though he valued him.

How it is used

Used when the rule has to apply to someone close as well.

Hanja泣斬馬謖

Simplified泣斩马谡

Korean reading읍참마속

Pinyinqì zhǎn mǎ sù

Frequently asked questions

Q. What does Eup-cham-ma-sok mean?

泣斬馬謖 · Beheading Ma Su in tears — holding to the rule despite personal feeling.

Q. Where does Eup-cham-ma-sok come from?

From the Records of the Three Kingdoms: Zhuge Liang executed Ma Su for disobeying orders, though he valued him.

Q. How is Eup-cham-ma-sok used?

Used when the rule has to apply to someone close as well.

Idioms in the same group

有備無患 Yu-bi-mu-hwanIf you prepare in advance, there is nothing to worry about.易地思之 Yeok-ji-sa-jiThink about it after swapping places with the other person.初志一貫 Cho-ji-il-gwanCarry the resolve you started with all the way through, unchanged.名不虛傳 Myeong-bul-heo-jeonThe reputation was not passed on in vain — it lives up to the name.靑出於藍 Cheong-chul-eo-ramThe blue drawn from the indigo plant is bluer than the plant — the student surpasses the teacher.大器晩成 Dae-gi-man-seongA great vessel takes long to finish — those destined for greatness succeed late.

The idioms used in Korea mix phrases from the Chinese classics with ones coined in Korea. Where an expression is not used in China, the entry says so.