tear a body limb from limb by five horses -- a form of death sentence in ancient times

tear a body limb from limb by five horses -- a form of death sentence in ancient times

Wu Ma Fen Shi, a Chinese idiom, Pinyin is w ǔ m ǎ f ē NSH ī. It is a kind of torture in ancient times. Five horses are used to tie people's head and limbs respectively to pull people apart. Now many metaphors divide the whole thing into very scattered parts. It comes from qunyin Lei Xuan Beiqiang Lei Wang Zhaojun Hefan by Hu Wenhuan of Ming Dynasty.

The origin of Idioms

According to Hu Wenhuan's qunyin Lei Xuan Beiqiang Lei Wang Zhaojun Hefan in Ming Dynasty, "it's a thousand years since you were killed today."

Idiom usage

I, Zhang Feihu, can't! No three heads and six arms! I've assigned those things to the group leader. You won't ask about them. (worker Zhang Feihu by Kang Zhuo)

Idioms and allusions

During the Qin Dynasty, Shang Yang caused the resentment of the Qin nobility because of his strict law enforcement. After the death of Xiao Gong, the prince Hui Wang Li. In order to repay his long-standing resentment, the pious disciples sued Shang Yang for conspiracy and sent officials to arrest him. Shang Yang plans to flee to Wei state. Wei people refuse to accept him because his son ang was killed by his plan. Shang Yang had no choice but to return to Qin. He and his disciples attacked Zheng (now Huaxian County in Shaanxi Province) and were defeated and captured. The king of Hui split Shangyang and destroyed his family.