hsien

American

[shyuhn] / ʃyʌn /

Pinyin, xian

noun

plural

hsien

(in popular Chinese religion) one of a group of benevolent spirits promoting good in the world.
(in China) a county or district.

Etymology

Origin of hsien

First recorded in 1965–70; from Chinese (Wade-Giles) hsien1, (Pinyin) xiān “hermit, wizard”

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Chen Li-fu traveled with speed and silence over south and central China, met with secret party leaders and hsien magistrates, testing the loyal, liquidating the disloyal.

From Time Magazine Archive

Here we changed soldiers, for this was a hsien town, or district centre.

From A Wayfarer in China Impressions of a trip across West China and Mongolia by Kendall, Elizabeth Kimball

As soon as all the hsien within a province are self-governing, the provincial government shall be released to democratic control.

From The Political Doctrines of Sun Yat-sen: An Exposition of the San Min Chu I by Linebarger, Paul Myron Anthony

Between the fu and the hsien cities are a few chou cities as Chining-chou.

From New Forces in Old China An Inevitable Awakening by Brown, Arthur Judson

A flourishing hsien city stood in the centre of a populous country.

From Myths and Legends of China by Werner, E. T. C. (Edward Theodore Chalmers)

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023