Definition
差役 (chā yì) is a historical term from imperial China with two distinct meanings. First, it refers to the corvée system — unpaid labor that common people were required to perform for the state. Second, it refers to a low-ranking government employee, such as a messenger or errand-runner in a yamen (government office). The word appears frequently in classical literature and historical texts, and understanding both senses is important for reading pre-modern Chinese.
n.
(historical) forced labor or service demanded by the statecorvée(historical) a low-level government messenger or servant
Examples
- 差役。Gǔdài nóngmín měinián dōu yào fú chā yì.Ancient peasants had to perform corvée every year.
- 衙。Tā niánqīng shí céng zài xiànyá dāng chā yì.When he was young, he worked as a runner in the county yamen.
- 差役。Nàxiē chā yì měitiān fùzé zài yámen lǐ pǎotuǐ.Those runners were responsible for running errands in the yamen every day.
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