Analects 13.18 · Zi Lu
“The father shields the son and the son shields the father; uprightness lies in that.”
Meaning, context, and how to apply it today
父爲子隱 子爲父隱 直在其中矣 (fù wèi zǐ yǐn, zǐ wèi fù yǐn, zhí zài qí zhōng yǐ) means “The father shields the son and the son shields the father; uprightness lies in that.” It is a passage from the Analects of Confucius, Book 13 (Zi Lu), Chapter 18.
父爲子隱 子爲父隱 直在其中矣
- Pinyin
- fù wèi zǐ yǐn, zǐ wèi fù yǐn, zhí zài qí zhōng yǐ
- Translation
- The father shields the son and the son shields the father; uprightness lies in that.
- Source
- Analects, Book 13 (Zi Lu), Chapter 18
What does this passage mean?
The background of the eighteenth chapter of Zi Lu is this. The Duke of She boasted to Confucius that in his district there was an upright man who testified against his own father for stealing a sheep. Confucius replied that uprightness in his own district was different: the father shields the son and the son shields the father, and uprightness lies in that. It is one of the most debated passages in the Analects. Confucius was not saying to cover up crime; he was saying that the love between parent and child is the root of all morality, and to cut that root oneself is not honesty. The passage asks what makes people human when law and natural feeling collide.
How can we apply it today?
This passage can feel uncomfortable to modern sensibilities. But what Confucius objected to was the attitude of boasting about a son who testified against his father. Declaring justice without pain in the face of a family member’s wrong is not honesty but coldness. Modern law itself recognizes this feeling through provisions that do not punish family members for harboring one another. Confucius’s insight is that morality begins in natural human affection. Keeping principles without letting them trample the human heart: that is where uprightness lives. Rightness and love are not opposites.
Questions to reflect on
- ·How do you think you should act in the face of a family member’s wrongdoing?
- ·Have you experienced a collision between principle and love?
- ·Have you seen honesty turn into coldness?
Character-by-character breakdown
| Character | Pinyin | Meaning | Strokes | Radical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 父 | fù | father | 4 | 父 (father) |
| 爲 | wèi | for | 12 | 爪 (claw) |
| 子 | zǐ | son | 3 | 子 (child) |
| 隱 | yǐn | hide | 17 | 阜 (mound) |
| 子 | zǐ | son | 3 | 子 (child) |
| 爲 | wèi | for | 12 | 爪 (claw) |
| 父 | fù | father | 4 | 父 (father) |
| 隱 | yǐn | hide | 17 | 阜 (mound) |
| 直 | zhí | upright | 8 | 目 (eye) |
| 在 | zài | exist | 6 | 土 (earth) |
| 其 | qí | that; he | 8 | 八 (eight) |
| 中 | zhōng | middle | 4 | 丨 (line) |
| 矣 | yǐ | grammatical particle | 7 | 矢 (arrow) |
Frequently asked questions
Q. What does “The father shields the son and the son…” mean?
父爲子隱 子爲父隱 直在其中矣 (fù wèi zǐ yǐn, zǐ wèi fù yǐn, zhí zài qí zhōng yǐ) means “The father shields the son and the son shields the father; uprightness lies in that.” It comes from the Analects, Book 13 (Zi Lu), Chapter 18.
Q. Where does this passage appear in the Analects?
It is Analects 13.18: Book 13 (Zi Lu), Chapter 18.
Q. How can this teaching be applied today?
This passage can feel uncomfortable to modern sensibilities.But what Confucius objected to was the attitude of boasting about a son who testified against his father.