| 玄武门之变 |
Xuán wǔ mén zhī biàn |
Xuanwu gate coup of June 626 in early Tang, in which Li Shimin 李世民 killed his brothers, seized the throne from his father as Emperor Taizong 唐太宗 |
| 玄 |
xuán |
black / mysterious |
| 玄武 |
Xuán wǔ |
Black Tortoise (the seven mansions of the north sky) / (in Daoism) God of the north sky |
| 武 |
Wǔ |
surname Wu |
| 武 |
wǔ |
martial / military |
| 门 |
Mén |
surname Men |
| 门 |
mén |
gate / door / CL:扇 / gateway / doorway / CL:个 / opening / valve / switch / way to do something / knack / family / house / (religious) sect / school (of thought) / class / category / phylum or division (taxonomy) / classifier for large guns / classifier for lessons, subjects, branches of technology / (suffix) -gate (i.e. scandal; derived from Watergate) |
| 之 |
zhī |
(possessive particle, literary equivalent of 的) / him / her / it |
| 变 |
biàn |
to change / to become different / to transform / to vary / rebellion |