惩 ㄔㄥ ˊ chéng 前 ㄑㄧㄢ ˊ qián 毖 ㄅㄧ ˋ bì 后 ㄏㄡ ˋ hòu 懲 ㄔㄥ ˊ chéng 前 ㄑㄧㄢ ˊ qián 毖 ㄅㄧ ˋ bì 後 ㄏㄡ ˋ hòu lit. to punish those before to prevent those after (idiom); to criticize former mistakes firmly to prevent them happening again