hsien
Americannoun
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hsien
plural
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(in popular Chinese religion) one of a group of benevolent spirits promoting good in the world.
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(in China) a county or district.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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
A flourishing hsien city stood in the centre of a populous country.
From Myths and Legends of China by E. T. C. (Edward Theodore Chalmers) Werner
The lowest official, the hsien Magistrate, represented the Empire to the people of the hsien, while within the villages or the hsien the people enjoyed a very high degree of autonomy.
From The Political Doctrines of Sun Yat-sen: An Exposition of the San Min Chu I by Paul Myron Anthony Linebarger
Yet Hsiang-tan- hsien is said to have 1,000,000 inhabitants, while within comparatively short distances are other great cities and innumerable villages.
From New Forces in Old China An Inevitable Awakening by Arthur Judson Brown
Shên hsien chuan, by Ko Hung, 79 Bird.
From Myths and Legends of China by E. T. C. (Edward Theodore Chalmers) Werner
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.
