發號施令

First attested in the 2nd century BCE in Huainanzi:

乃發號施令曰：“其國之君，傲天悔鬼，決獄不辜，殺戮無罪，此天之所以誅也，民之所以仇也。兵之來也，以廢不義而復有德也。” [Traditional Chinese poetry, trad.]

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乃发号施令曰：“其国之君，傲天悔鬼，决狱不辜，杀戮无罪，此天之所以诛也，民之所以仇也。兵之来也，以废不义而复有德也。” [Traditional Chinese poetry, simp.]

From: Huainanzi, 2^nd century BCE

Nǎi fāhàoshīlìng yuē: “Qí guó zhī jūn, ào tiān huǐ guǐ, jué yù bùgū, shālù wúzuì, cǐ tiān zhīsuǒyǐ zhū yě, mín zhīsuǒyǐ chóu yě. Bīng zhī lái yě, yǐ fèi bùyì ér fù yǒudé yě.” [Pinyin]

An edict is being issued, saying, “The sovereign of this state is arrogant before Heaven, humiliates ghosts and deities, misjudge lawsuits and execute innocent people. A person like this—a public enemy of the people, should be sentenced to death according to the will of Heaven. The victorious troops are here to exterminate the unrighteous and resume the power of the virtuous.”

發號施令

1. to issue orders

   • 其侍御僕從，罔匪正人，以旦夕承弼厥辟，出入起居，罔有不欽，發號施令，罔有不臧。下民祗若，萬邦咸休。 [Traditional Chinese poetry, trad.]
     其侍御仆从，罔匪正人，以旦夕承弼厥辟，出入起居，罔有不钦，发号施令，罔有不臧。下民祗若，万邦咸休。 [Traditional Chinese poetry, simp.]

     From: Forged Old Text of the Book of Documents, circa 3^rd – 4^th century CE

     Qí shìyù púcóng, wǎng fěi zhèngrén, yǐ dànxī chéng bì jué pì, chūrù qǐjū, wǎng yǒu bù qīn, fāhàoshīlìng, wǎng yǒu bùzāng. Xiàmín zhīruò, wànbāng xián xiū. [Pinyin]

     Their servants, charioteers, chamberlains, and followers were all men of correctness; morning and evening waiting on their sovereign's wishes, or supplying his deficiencies. [Those kings], going out and coming in, rising up and sitting down, were thus made reverent. Their every warning or command was good. The people yielded a reverent obedience, and the myriad regions were all happy.

2. (figuratively) to boss people around

   • 只有那些主觀地、片面地和表面地看問題的人，跑到一個地方，不問環境的情況，不看事情的全體（事情的歷史和全部現狀），也不觸到事情的本質（事情的性質及此一事情和其它事情的內部聯繫），就自以為是地發號施令起來，這樣的人是沒有不跌交子的。 [MSC, trad.]
     只有那些主观地、片面地和表面地看问题的人，跑到一个地方，不问环境的情况，不看事情的全体（事情的历史和全部现状），也不触到事情的本质（事情的性质及此一事情和其它事情的内部联系），就自以为是地发号施令起来，这样的人是没有不跌交子的。 [MSC, simp.]

     From: 1937, 毛澤東 (Mao Zedong), 《實踐論》 (On Practice), 《毛澤東選集》. English translation based on the Foreign Languages Press edition

     Zhǐyǒu nàxiē zhǔguān de, piànmiàn de hé biǎomiàn de kàn wèntí de rén, pǎo dào yī gè dìfang, bù wèn huánjìng de qíngkuàng, bù kàn shìqing de quántǐ (shìqing de lìshǐ hé quánbù xiànzhuàng), yě bù chù dào shìqing de běnzhì (shìqing de xìngzhì jí cǐ yī shìqing hé qítā shìqing de nèibù liánxì), jiù zìyǐwéishì de fāhàoshīlìng qilai, zhèyàng de rén shì méiyǒu bù diē jiāozi de. [Pinyin]

     Only those who are subjective, one-sided and superficial in their approach to problems will smugly issue orders or directives the moment they arrive on the scene, without considering the circumstances, without viewing things in their totality (their history and their present state as a whole) and without getting to the essence of things (their nature and the internal relations between one thing and another). Such people are bound to trip and fall.