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During the Warring States period, Wan Zhang, a student of Mencius, sought his teacher's advice on matters of interpersonal conduct. Mencius stressed the importance of showing respect to others.
Wan Zhang then asked, "To repeatedly decline and refuse a person's gift is considered impolite, why is that so?"
Mencius responded, "When a person of high status sends you something, if you refuse it, that is indeed disrespectful. Therefore, you should accept it."

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Open the tool →却之不恭 (què zhī bù gōng) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “it is considered impolite or disrespectful to refuse an offer”.
却之不恭 is pronounced què zhī bù gōng in Mandarin Chinese.
Literally, 却之不恭 means “to decline it is impolite”. It is used to mean “it is considered impolite or disrespectful to refuse an offer”.
却之不恭 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
却:推却。指对别人的邀请、赠与等,如果拒绝接受,就显得不恭敬。