Definition

1. Noun:
   • Power-usurping courtier; overmighty subject: A high-ranking official or noble who, through personal influence, control of the military, or bureaucratic power, effectively overshadows or seizes the authority of the monarch, making the ruler a figurehead.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Trong lịch sử phong kiến, nhiều vị tướng trở thành quyền thần, nắm mọi quyền hành trong triều đình. (In feudal history, many generals became power-usurping courtiers, holding all authority in the royal court.)
  • Vị quan đó là một quyền thần, mọi việc lớn nhỏ đều phải qua tay ông ta. (That mandarin was an overmighty subject; all matters, big and small, had to go through him.)

Advanced Usage

• The term "quyền thần" is primarily a historical and literary term used to describe figures in contexts of feudal or absolute monarchies, such as in Vietnamese, Chinese, or Korean history. It carries a strongly negative connotation of disloyalty and ambition.

Word Origin and Notes

• This is a Sino-Vietnamese compound word (Hán Việt):
  • "Quyền" (權): means power, authority.
  • "Thần" (臣): means minister, courtier, subject.
• The term literally translates to "powerful minister," but its actual meaning implies a minister who has power, making it pejorative.

Synonyms

• Usurper (specifically of a throne or authority).
• Kingmaker (a person who holds influence over who holds power).
• Overmighty subject (a historical term for a vassal more powerful than the monarch).

Related Concepts and Phrases

• Lấn quyền / Soán quyền: to usurp power, to encroach on authority.
  • Hành động của vị quan đó bị coi là lấn quyền nhà vua. (That mandarin's actions were considered a usurpation of the king's power.)
• Ngoại thích: maternal relatives (of a monarch) who wield excessive power, often a specific type of "quyền thần".
• Phế lập: to depose and enthrone; a typical action a "quyền thần" might undertake.

1. Power-usurping courtier