shàng​liáng​bù​zhèng​xià​liáng​wāi

bad superiors produce bad subordinates

Senses

上梁不正下梁歪 shàng​liáng​bù​zhèng​xià​liáng​wāi (also shàng​liáng​bú​zhèng​xià​liáng​wāi) bad superiors produce bad subordinates

Literally means if the upper beam is not straight, the lower beam will be crooked; used as an idiom to describe how the bad behavior of leaders or elders influences their subordinates or the younger generation.

References

No references for this word.