杀鸡儆猴：SHA JI JING HOU

Killing The Chicken To Frighten The Monkey

Once upon a time, there was a street artist who purchased a monkey in hopes of turning it into a performing monkey. This particular monkey was not very obedient and gave the street artist a very hard time. The artist had enough and purchased a chicken on the market. He would terrorize the chicken by beating drums and making awfully loud noises. 

When the chicken was frozen in fear, the artist took a cleaver and beheaded the chicken in front of his disobedient monkey. By making an example out of the chicken, the artist was able to tame the mischievous monkey who never stepped out of line ever again.

Moral of the idiom: You might need to make an example of out something to prove a point. Also, fear (although not encouraged) might be the answer. 

ORIGINAL IDIOM: 杀鸡儆猴

从前，有个耍猴人买了一只不听话的猴子。艺人不太满意，就到市场买了一只公鸡，对它不断的敲锣打鼓。公鸡吓呆了，这个艺人正好趁机会在猴子面前把这只鸡给杀了。从此，艺人说什么，或敲锣打鼓，猴子毫不含糊的乖乖执行命令。