出自《汉书·景十三王传·中山靖王传》，像狗的牙齿那样参差不齐。形容交界线很曲折，很不整齐。也指局面错综复杂。错：交叉。
From the “Biography of King Jingzhong of Zhongshan” in the Records of the Grand Historian. Like a dog’s teeth crisscrossed in disarray. It describes border lines that are very winding and irregular, and also refers to a situation that is complex and tangled. Cuo means crossed or intertwined.
汉高祖刘邦登基后，为表彰臣子们的功劳，把他们分封到各地为王。他们独霸一方，在地方上拥有强权，有的人甚至打算谋反。后来刘邦消灭了那些人。为了巩固汉朝政权，刘邦又大力赐封同族的人。后来在汉景帝时，爆发了以吴王为首的七国之乱。太尉周亚夫奉命平定了叛乱，但同姓诸侯仍然存在，汉朝的江山仍然受到威胁。
After Liu Bang founded the Han Dynasty, he enfeoffed his ministers in different regions as kings to reward their contributions. They became unchallenged rulers in their domains with strong local power, and some even plotted rebellion. Liu Bang later eliminated these threats. To consolidate the dynasty, he also generously enfeoffed members of the Liu clan. During the reign of Emperor Jingdi, the Rebellion of the Seven State Kings led by the King of Wu broke out. The regent Zhou Yafu was ordered to suppress it, but the existence of these dynastic kings still threatened the Han regime.
汉武帝时，为了巩固中央集权，实行“领地削减”的政策削弱王侯们的势力。诸侯们很害怕，对汉武帝说：“我们都是一家人，先帝将封地如犬牙般交错安排，就是为了让我们能共同保护汉室，希望您能手下留情。”汉武帝念及同宗之情，颁布推恩令，把诸侯的领地分封给他们的子弟，削弱了各诸侯国的势力，也巩固了中央集权。
During the reign of Emperor Wudi, in order to centralize imperial authority, a policy of “territorial reduction” was implemented to weaken the power of the kingdoms. The kings pleaded with Wudi, saying: “We are all one family. The previous emperors arranged our fiefdoms intertwined like canine teeth so we could jointly protect the Han house. Please be lenient.” Wudi, mindful of the family ties, issued an edict to divide the territories and re-enfeoff them to the kings’ descendants, diminishing the power of each kingdom while consolidating central authority.