Analects 13:18

The Duke of She told Confucius, “In my country there is an upright man named Kung.  When his father stole a sheep, he bore witness against him.”  Confucius said, “The upright men in my community are different from this.  The father conceals the misconduct of the son and the son conceals the misconduct of the father.  Uprightness is to be found in this.”  [Analects 13:18]

Today, I would like to interpret the above analect which is part of the topic "The Family as the Basic Social Unit" in Achieving Social Harmony.

I have two possible interpretations in the said analect.
1.
Unlike the Christian tradition especially Catholics, when one has done something wrong, even if he/she is a member of your family or part of your friends, the person must not cover up the mistake he/she has done. He must tell the truth, when he knows, even if it means destroying the relationship between them. It is considered a good moral act if the man stays truthful and honest despite loosing something, in this case, the relationship. The same scenario is seen in the town She, as mentioned in the above analect. In the Confucian perspective, its the other way around. One is considered good when one keeps the bond and the relationship of the family. In the said analect, the family member must stand with the other even that person has done something wrong. He /she must protect and ensure the safety of the other.  This perspective can be noticed to some mothers. There are some mothers who loves their children so much that if their child gets into a fight, they scold the enemy and blame him/her for starting it even if their child was the real one who caused the fight. They would cover up the mistake of their child just to prove to that they care for him/her and that they try to keep the mother-child tandem.

Uprightness, according to Confucius, is being loyal to the family. The loyalty is not measured by the bad deeds the family member has done. It does not matter if the family member has done wrong but what is more important is the bond that ties the family together.

2.
In the said analect, it can also be understood that the father must correct the mistake that his son has done and the son must correct the mistake his father has done. The uprightness that can be seen here is different from my interpretation in the first one wherein the mother tolerates the wrong doing of his son just so to show that she loves him/her. In this interpretation, the way the father shows his love is not through tolerating him by standing up with him but by standing up against him at first and tries to hide those misconduct by letting him realize his wrong doing and trying to correct them. The son, on the other hand, must also do the same but the son should not do this in the manner that he thinks he is greater than his father and he is superior over him, rather he should do this still with great respect to his father. He must know that he is just the son and the father is his father. He must know that people do make mistakes and his father is no exceptions to it but that doesn't mean that when he is right and his father is wrong, he would look at himself at someone higher than him. There should still be the respect over the elder as depicted in the Confucian way of living.

Uprightness in this case is still staying loyal to the family, keeping the bond that ties them together but it is not through tolerating the wrong act. Uprightness is correcting the misconduct, letting the person grow through this while keeping the relationship between the family members.