刑不上大夫

xíngbúshàngdàfū

phrase

Meanings

1 punishments do not extend to high officials — the classical principle that senior officials were exempt from corporal punishment
2 literally: punishments do not reach up to the dafu (grand officers)

Characters

man / official (classical)

Examples

古代有'刑不上大夫'的说法，如今要求法律面前人人平等。

Gǔdài yǒu "xíng bú shàng dà fū" de shuōfǎ, rújīn yāoqiú fǎlǜ miànqián rénrén píngděng.

In antiquity there was the principle 'punishments do not reach the nobles'; today we demand equality before the law.

绝不能搞刑不上大夫那一套，高官犯法同样要追究。

Jué bùnéng gǎo xíng bú shàng dà fū nà yí tào, gāoguān fànfǎ tóngyàng yào zhuījiū.

We must never slip back into 'no punishment for high officials' — senior officials who break the law must likewise be held to account.

Tips

history

From 《礼记·曲礼上》 (Book of Rites, Qu Li): 礼不下庶人，刑不上大夫 — 'Ritual does not extend down to commoners; punishment does not extend up to grand officers (dafu).' The Zhou-era principle that the aristocracy was to be held accountable through ritual demotion, exile, or self-imposed suicide rather than public corporal punishment. Today almost always invoked critically — as the attitude modern rule-of-law must reject.

usage

Register is historical / polemical. Standard phrase in anti-corruption commentary and rule-of-law discourse: used to describe (and condemn) the idea that senior officials should be above ordinary law.

usage

大夫 here is read dàfū (an ancient grade of noble official), NOT dàifu (modern word for doctor). Pronouncing it dàifu changes the meaning entirely.

Stroke Order

刑 xíng

不 bù

上 shàng

大 dà

夫 fū