to root out powerful bullies or evil forces; based on a metaphor from the [[后汉书|後漢書|hou4 han4 shu1]] where pulling up large scallions symbolizes striking down local tyrants

(literary) a funeral dirge or song of mourning; specifically an ancient Yuefu song used for burials, expressing the fleeting nature of human life by comparing it to dew on a shallot leaf