531 BC

Confucius got his first job when he was twenty years old. He was in charge of the granary of the house of Chi, and he was famous because of the fairness of his measures. Then he became the person who looked after the cattle and the sheep, and the cattle and the sheep multiplied quickly. After a while, he got a promotion to be a minister of public work like construction of buildings. One day, when he was taking care of the cattle and sheep, a shepherd boy told Confucius that one of the sheep was stolen. Confucius asked, "Do you know who did this?" The boy answered, "It was my father." Confucius thought for a while and shouted at the boy," You didn’t do your job well because you lost the sheep, and you are not a good son because you told other people about your father’s sin. You made two big mistakes, so wait for your punishment." Someone said to Confucius, "What this boy said was right and he was just telling the truth, so what is wrong with it?" Confucius explained," The relationship between father and son is based on the kindness and filial actions. Therefore, it is right if the father covers for the children or the children cover for the father if any of them did something wrong. How could you say that it is honest when the son tells other people that his father has done wrong?"