虐

Ideogrammic compound:

虍 (범 호) — semantic component, representing a tiger’s head or body, symbol of ferocity and danger.

爪 (손톱 조) — semantic component, representing claws grasping or tearing.

Together, 虍 and 爪 depict a tiger using its claws to attack or harm, thus forming the concept of cruelty, savagery, and violence.

In Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字):

「虐，暴也。从虍爪。」

“虐 means violent or cruel; composed of 虍 (tiger) and 爪 (claw).”

Hence, 虐 directly symbolizes the merciless nature of a beast extended metaphorically to human cruelty and oppression.

Semantic evolution:

Literal: savage or beastlike violence (the tiger’s cruelty).

Moral: human cruelty, oppression, abuse of power.

Political: tyranny or despotism (虐政, 暴虐).

Psychological: heartless behavior, lack of empathy (虐心).

殘虐 (잔학) — cruel, atrocious, brutal

暴虐 (포학) — tyrannical, despotic

虐政 (학정) — oppressive government, tyranny

虐待 (학대) — abuse, ill-treatment

慘虐 (참학) — extreme cruelty, atrocities

虐刑 (학형) — cruel punishment, torture

虐君 (학군) — a cruel or tyrannical ruler

虐心 (학심) — a cruel heart, merciless disposition

Kangxi Dictionary (康熙字典, vol. 1033):

「虐，暴也。害也。」

“虐 means violence; to harm.”

Book of Documents (書經 · 康誥):

「天惟時求民主，乃惟克用不虐。」

“Heaven seeks a ruler for the people, one who can govern without cruelty” — 虐 here refers to tyrannical harshness — the antithesis of benevolent rule (仁政).

Mencius (孟子 · 梁惠王上):

「民惟邦本，本固邦寧。苛政猛於虎。」

“Harsh government is more ferocious than a tiger.”

Though 虐 is not explicitly used, its concept parallels 苛政 — oppressive cruelty likened to a tiger, echoing the same imagery as 虍.

Zuo Commentary (左傳 · 僖公二十四年):

「民弗堪虐。」

“The people could no longer endure the cruelty.”

These citations show that 虐 carries both moral and political weight — the cruelty of rulers being a cardinal sin against Heaven’s mandate (天命).

In Confucian thought, 虐 is the direct opposite of 仁 (benevolence).

The sage ruler governs by virtue (德), not by cruelty (虐).

As Mencius states, “Those who govern through cruelty lose the people; those who govern through virtue win their hearts.”

In Buddhist ethics, 虐 represents one of the manifestations of 무명(無明) — ignorance that causes beings to inflict suffering.

In legal and historical contexts, 虐 often denotes abusive punishment or oppression of subjects (虐民, 虐臣, 虐刑).

Across classical Chinese philosophy, 虐 embodies the corruption of power and loss of compassion, the very opposite of 仁義.

To avoid 虐 is to walk the path of virtue and humanity; to commit 虐 is to become, as the ancients said, “a ruler more feared than the tiger itself.”

Phonological notes:

In Korean, the initial velar nasal (ᅌ) in ᅌᅡᆨ shifted to ㅎ in later phonological evolution, resulting in the modern pronunciation “학.”

In Japanese, the On’yomi is gyaku when used in compounds (e.g. 暴虐 ぼうぎゃく “cruelty”).