About
The character 弑 is a phono-semantic compound combining 杀 (shā, to kill) as the semantic component, indicating a violent act, and 式 (shì, style) as the phonetic component. Its traditional form, 弑, uses the traditional character 殺. The term refers specifically to the regicide or parricide committed by a subordinate against a superior, such as a subject assassinating a ruler or a child killing a parent. In traditional Chinese historiography, this verb was crucial for denoting such crimes as grave violations of the Confucian hierarchical order, clearly distinguishing them from ordinary murder.
Etymology Hide
