诛九族

zhū jiǔ zú

to execute all of sb's relatives (as punishment) (old)

zhū

to put (a criminal) to death

jiǔ

nine

race

punish (诛) + nine (九) + clan (族) = execute the entire family

族 combines a flag-on-a-pole element (方) with an arrow (矢), evoking armed people rallying under a banner — a kinship group bound by common cause. 诛九族 names the most feared punishment in imperial China: death extended nine degrees of relation in every direction.