| 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; doorway; gateway; opening (CL:扇) / valve; switch; other door-like or gate-like structure / way to do sth; knack; method; approach / family; household; lineage / (bound form) sect; school; faction (religious or academic) / (bound form) class; category; division; phylum / classifier for courses, fields of study, branches of technology, relatives by marriage, guns etc / (suffix) -gate (scandal) |
| 之 |
zhī |
(possessive particle, literary equivalent of 的) / him / her / it |
| 变 |
biàn |
to change / to become different / to transform / to vary / rebellion |