Mencius said 'the root of the state is in the family' - if family ethos is crooked, the national ethos won't straighten either.
Tips
history
From 《孟子·离娄上》: 天下之本在国，国之本在家，家之本在身 (The root of the world lies in the state; the root of the state lies in the family; the root of the family lies in the self). Mencius's ladder from individual cultivation up to global order - echoed by the 修身齐家治国平天下 formula in the 《大学》. A classic citation in modern Chinese family-values discourse.
usage
Best quoted in the full three-step 天下之本在国，国之本在家，家之本在身. The principle that private virtue undergirds public order is foundational to Confucian political thought.
