"Dayi Mieqin" (Sacrificing Family Ties for Righteousness) means that in order to uphold justice and the interests of the state or the collective, one does not hesitate to sacrifice kinship ties, showing no favoritism toward relatives who have violated the law or breached discipline, and instead severely punishing or reporting them. This idiom originates from the Zuo Commentary on the Spring and Autumn Annals, Duke Yin, Year Four, which tells how Shi Que, a senior official of the State of Wei, devised a plan to execute his own son Shi Hou, along with the treacherous minister Zhou Yu, because Shi Hou had taken part in regicide and usurpation, so as to restore stability to the state. Its deeper meaning emphasizes that "public righteousness" stands above "private affection"; when loyalty and filial piety cannot both be fulfilled, one chooses loyalty to the state, the law, or moral principles. It is mostly used in formal and serious contexts, such as judicial, political, and social commentary, to describe law enforcers, leaders, or ordinary citizens making a difficult and noble choice when kinship conflicts with justice. In cultural background, it reflects the ordering of values in the Confucian tension between loyalty and filial piety, as well as the Legalist spirit of "making no distinction between close and distant, no distinction between noble and humble, and deciding everything according to law." In emotional coloring, it contains both praise and admiration for upholding justice and an implied sense of solemnity and helplessness in cutting off kinship ties, often carrying the sense of the lofty, resolute, and impartial.
📝 Example
1. After discovering that his younger brother was involved in drug trafficking, the prosecutor resolutely chose to place righteousness above family loyalty and personally brought him to court. (Referring to upholding justice without showing favoritism, and reporting or punishing criminal relatives.)
2. In the fight against corruption, many officials have taken the initiative to disclose the disciplinary violations of their relatives. This spirit of placing righteousness above family loyalty is worthy of praise. (Referring to safeguarding the rule of law and public interests, and being willing to sacrifice family ties to strictly punish or expose the faults of relatives.)