刚正不阿

剛正不阿
gāngzhèng-bù'ē
idiom #49,494

Meanings

  1. 1 upright and incorruptible
  2. 2 principled and unwilling to flatter or yield

Examples

Zhèwèi fǎguān yǐ gāngzhèngbù'ē wénmíng.
This judge is famous for being upright and incorruptible.
Tā wéirén gāngzhèngbù'ē, cóngbù xiàng quánguì dītóu.
He is upright and never bows to the powerful.
Lìshǐ shang xiàng Bāo Zhěng zhèyàng gāngzhèngbù'ē de guānyuán bù duō.
Officials as incorruptible as Bao Zheng are rare in history.

Tips

history
Found in the Ming-era 《典故》: 'those who are upright and do not flatter, who refuse private petitions' were considered worthy. A classic descriptor for incorruptible officials like Bao Zheng ().
mistakes
The final character is read ē here (to flatter / toady), not the more common ā (interjection) or ǎ. = 'does not toady.'

Stroke Order

gāng
zhèng
ā