hsien
Americannoun
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
From the viewpoint of the Western reader this proverb could be turned against Sun in his treatment of the hsien.
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
The hsien is in the unit of the most direct self-government of the people, without the interference of any elaborate set-up from officialdom.
From The Political Doctrines of Sun Yat-sen: An Exposition of the San Min Chu I by Linebarger, Paul Myron Anthony
These are known by the term hsien, and are referred to above as fairies.
From The Fulfilment of a Dream of Pastor Hsi's The Story of the Work in Hwochow by Cable, Mildred
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
