Definition
师爷 refers to a private secretary or adviser who served local magistrates in imperial China, especially during the Qing dynasty. These literate assistants handled legal, administrative, and financial matters. In some dialects it is also used as a respectful term for a teacher's father or grandfather, but the HSK-level sense is primarily the historical role as a legal/administrative consultant.
n.
private secretary or adviser (in imperial China)(honorific) teacher's father or grandfather
Examples
- 。Shī yé zài Qīng cháo shíqī shì guānyuán de zhòngyào zhùshǒu.The private secretary was an important aide to officials during the Qing dynasty.
- 。Tā shì yí wèi yǒu jīngyàn de shī yé.He was an experienced private secretary.
- ,。Cūn lǐ rén jiào tā Wáng Shī yé, yīnwèi tā bāng dàjiā xiě zhuàng zi.The villagers called him Wang Shiye because he helped everyone write legal petitions.
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