杀一儆百 Kill one to warn a hundred
Explanation
杀一儆百，指杀一个人来警告其他人。
To kill one to warn a hundred.
Origin Story
西汉时期，河东太守田延年巡视霍光的家乡平阳，发现当地强盗横行，民不聊生。他决定采取强硬手段，迅速平息民乱。他抓住一个为首的强盗，将其处死，并公开示众。此事一出，其他强盗闻风丧胆，纷纷逃窜，不敢再作恶。一时间，平阳地区恢复了安宁，百姓们也安居乐业。田延年的杀一儆百之策，不仅有效地震慑了犯罪分子，更重要的是维护了社会秩序，使当地百姓生活安定。
During the Western Han Dynasty, Tian Yannian, the governor of Hedong, inspected Huo Guang's hometown, Pingyang, and found that bandits were rampant and the people were suffering. He decided to take strong measures to quickly quell the unrest. He caught a bandit leader and had him executed publicly. As soon as this happened, other bandits were scared and fled, and dared not do evil again. For a time, Pingyang area restored peace, and the people lived and worked in peace and contentment. Tian Yannian’s policy of killing one to warn a hundred effectively deterred criminals, but more importantly, maintained social order and made the local people's lives stable.
Usage
常用于警示、震慑等场合。
Often used in situations of warning or deterrence.
Examples
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为了维护社会秩序，我们必须杀鸡儆猴，杀一儆百。
wèile weihu shèhuì zhìxù, wǒmen bìxū shā jī jǐng hóu, shā yī jǐng bǎi.
In order to maintain social order, we must make an example of someone to warn others.
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这个案例的发生足以杀一儆百，让其他人引以为戒。
zhège ànlì de fāshēng zúyǐ shā yī jǐng bǎi, ràng qítā rén yǐnyǐwéijìè
The occurrence of this case is enough to warn many others to take this as a warning and learn from it。