e Analects records a conversation between the governor of She and Confucius. e governor told Confucius, clearly with some pride, “in our village there is an upright person named Gong. He bears witness against his father stealing a sheep.” Confucius responded, “in my village, an upright person is dierent: father does not disclose son’s wrongdoing, and son does not disclose father’s wrongdoing, and the uprightness lies in it” (Analects 13.18).

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/313120628_Why_an_Upright_Son_Does_Not_Disclose_His_Father_Stealing_a_Sheep_A_Neglected_Aspect_of_the_Confucian_Conception_of_Filial_Piety