千乘

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Chinese

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thousand
ride; mount; make use of
ride; mount; make use of; take advantage of; multiply; to avail of; to ride
 
trad. (千乘)
simp. #(千乘)

Etymology

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In Western Zhou-era China (early first millennium B.C.E.), the 天子 (tiānzǐ, “Son of Heaven”) was described as commanding 萬乘万乘 (wànshèng, “ten thousand chariots”) while his immediate vassals only commanded a thousand, so "thousand chariots" is used to imply a subordinate vassal.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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千乘

  1. (literary, historical) one thousand horse-drawn chariots
  2. (literary, historical) vassal subject to the Son of Heaven

Derived terms

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Proper noun

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千乘

  1. Qiansheng (ancient place name, located in modern-day Gaoqing County, Shandong province, China)