罪人不孥 — “Punish the person, not the family”
罪人不孥 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to punish only the offender and not extend the punishment to their innocent family members (wife and children)”. Literally, “Punish the person, not the family”.
罪人不孥 Pronunciation and Pinyin
罪人不孥 Character Breakdown
Stroke OrderExample Sentence with 罪人不孥
Origin and Story of 罪人不孥
During the Warring States period, someone advised King Xuan of Qi to demolish the Mingtang (Hall of Light), which was used by the Son of Heaven to tour and meet with feudal lords. King Xuan consulted Mencius on this matter.
Mencius argued that if the King wished to implement benevolent governance, he should not destroy it. He explained that King Wen of Zhou had unified the realm by practicing benevolent governance, which included the principle of 'punishing the offender, but not their family' (罪人不孥), and providing special care for the helpless, such as widowers, widows, single men, and orphans.
King Xuan agreed that Mencius's words were reasonable.
Idioms Related to 罪人不孥
Synonyms of 罪人不孥
More idioms starting with 罪
- zuì罪shàng上jiā加zuì罪compound a crime
- zuì罪bù不kě可huàn逭Guilt cannot be escaped
- zuì罪bù不róng容sǐ死crime too heinous for death to atone
- zuì罪bù不róng容zhū诛crime beyond redemption by death
- zuì罪bù不shèng胜zhū诛crimes too heinous for mere execution
- zuì罪yè业shēn深zhòng重deeply sinful or having committed grave offenses
- zuì罪yǐ以gōng功chú除atone for a crime with meritorious service
- zuì罪jiā加yī一děng等to increase the penalty for a crime
- zuì罪hé合wàn万sǐ死deserving ten thousand deaths
- zuì罪zài在bù不shè赦guilt is unpardonable
- zuì罪dà大è恶jí极guilty of heinous crimes
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Open the tool →Questions about 罪人不孥
What does 罪人不孥 mean?
罪人不孥 (zuì rén bù nú) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to punish only the offender and not extend the punishment to their innocent family members (wife and children)”.
How do you pronounce 罪人不孥?
罪人不孥 is pronounced zuì rén bù nú in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 罪人不孥 literally mean?
Literally, 罪人不孥 means “Punish the person, not the family”. It is used to mean “to punish only the offender and not extend the punishment to their innocent family members (wife and children)”.
Where does 罪人不孥 come from?
罪人不孥 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
What is the Chinese definition of 罪人不孥?
孥：妻与子女的统称。谓治罪止于本人，不累及妻和子女。