三令五申

Prononciation: sān lìng wǔ shēn Signification littérale: Three orders five reminders

Origine et Usage

The Records of the Grand Historian anchors this phrase in Sun Wu's audition for the King of Wu, who asked whether the theorist could really drill troops and gave him a hundred and eighty palace women to try it on. Sun Wu formed them into two companies under the king's two favourite concubines, set out the drum signals, and went over the orders repeatedly (三令五申) before beginning. The women only laughed. He said that when orders are unclear the fault is the general's, but when they are clear and still disobeyed the fault is the officers' — and had the two favourites executed over the king's protest. The rest drilled in perfect silence afterwards. The phrase now describes rules laid down so often that nobody can claim not to have heard them, and it usually carries the implication that they were broken anyway.

Exemples

Anglais: "The safety rules had been spelled out at every briefing before the accident"

Chinois: 事故发生前，安全规程在每次简报上都被反复强调