醢 (hǎi) - Hǎi — minced meat or fish & ancient method of food preservation involving pickling or

醢Tone 3

hǎi ｜ 17 strokes ｜ radical:

枫惠

醢 · hǎi

Hǎi — minced meat or fish;

ancient method of food preservation involving pickling or fermenting;

also refers to a cruel punishment of being minced into paste.

Hǎi — minced meat or fishancient method of food preservation involving pickling oralso refers to a cruel punishment of being

Usage highlights

Meat pasteFish pasteMince punishmentSauce makingPickled meatFermented paste

Synonyms

  • 酱— sauce, paste (food context)
  • 脍— minced meat (culinary preparation)

Usage & contexts

Examples

  • Ancient Chinese cuisine included meat paste (醢).
  • The tyrant executed his enemies by making them into mincemeat (醢刑).
  • Fish sauce was sometimes called fish醢 (鱼醢).
  • This character appears in classical texts describing food preservation methods (醢法).

Collocations

  • Meat paste(肉醢)
  • Fish paste(鱼醢)
  • Mince punishment(醢刑)
  • Sauce making(作醢)
  • Pickled meat(醢肉)
  • Fermented paste(醢酱)

Idioms

  • To be minced into paste(醢之)
  • The punishment of mincing(醢刑)
  • Making meat into paste(为醢)

Cultural background

FAQ
  • Originally referred to a food preservation technique in ancient China, similar to modern fermented fish sauces.
  • Later became associated with a brutal execution method where victims were chopped into mincemeat.
  • Appears in classical texts like the Rites of Zhou and historical records describing punishments.
  • Rarely used in modern Chinese except in historical or literary contexts.

FAQ