Definition

1. Noun:
   • Corvée, forced labor: "lực dịch" refers to a historical system of unpaid, compulsory labor that the feudal ruling class imposed on the common people. It specifically denotes heavy, arduous tasks.
   • Toil of drawers of water and hewers of wood: This phrase captures the essence of "lực dịch" as exhausting, menial physical labor, often involving basic tasks like carrying water and chopping wood for the benefit of the exploiters.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Dưới chế độ phong kiến, người dân phải chịu cảnh lực dịch vô cùng khổ cực. (Under the feudal regime, the people had to endure the extreme hardship of corvée.)
  • Lực dịch thời xưa bao gồm những việc như khiêng nước, đốn củi cho quan lại. (The forced labor of the old days included tasks like carrying water and chopping wood for the mandarins.)

Advanced Usage

• This term is archaic (từ cũ; nghĩa cũ) and is primarily used in historical or literary contexts to describe feudal exploitation. It is not used in modern contexts for contemporary labor.

Variants and Related Words

• Sưu dịch (n): Another historical term for corvée or conscripted labor, often used similarly.
• Phu phen (n): Corvée laborer; a person performing such forced labor.
• Tạp dịch (n): Miscellaneous chores or menial labor, but not necessarily unpaid or compulsory in the historical sense of "lực dịch".

Synonyms

• Corvée (n): Unpaid labor demanded by a lord or state.
• Forced labor / Compulsory labor (n): Work performed under coercion and without fair compensation.
• Drudgery (n): Hard, menial, or dull work. (This captures the exhausting nature but not necessarily the compulsory, unpaid aspect of the historical system).

Related Phrases

• Chịu lực dịch: To endure/submit to corvée.
  • Hàng nghìn nông dân đã phải chịu lực dịch cho triều đình. (Thousands of peasants had to endure corvée for the royal court.)

1. (từ cũ; nghĩa cũ) Corvee, toil of drawers of water and hewers of wood