Idiom Explanation:
To do the illegal things personally, intentionally breaking the law without caring about the law.
Pronunciation:
以身试法
yǐ shēn shì fǎ
Origin:
东汉·班固《汉书·王尊传》：故行贪鄙，能变更者与为治。明慎所职，毋以身试法。
Story:
During the Western Han Dynasty, an incorruptible official named Wang Zun came from Gaoyang. Wang Zun lost his father when he was young and was raised by his uncle. As his uncle’s family was poor, Wang Zun had to herd sheep for others every day to support his family. Wang Zun usually loved reading and always brought some books to read when he herded sheep. Gradually, he came to respect the officials mentioned in the books who enforced the law impartially and hoped that he would become such a person in the future.
One day, Wang Zun begged his uncle to get him a job in the county jail. When he heard this, his uncle was surprised and said, “You are still a child, and you don’t know anything about criminal law, how can you work in the prison?” Wang Rong said, “I have learned a lot from books, so I can learn more from the warden later. The uncle could not resist Wang Zun’s repeated requests, so he prepared a gift and asked someone to intercede with the prison warden, who then left Wang Zun as a listener to his side. This insignificant job, Wang Rong did for a few years. During this period, he systematically studied the various criminal laws promulgated by the court and knew the laws of the Han Dynasty well.
Once, Wang Zun accompanied the prison warden to the governor’s office, and every time the governor asked a question, Wang Zun answered it without the slightest mistake. Seeing his extraordinary talent, the governor kept him in his office to do clerical work. After a few more years, Wang Zun resigned from the office of the governor and devoted himself to studying the Confucian classics.
Many years later, Wang Zun entered the civil service again. Because of his strict law enforcement, he was gradually promoted to be the magistrate of the county, and later to be the governor of Anding County. At that time, the officialdom of Anding County was very chaotic, and some officials used their power to make use of their authority and oppress all the people. As soon as Wang Zun arrived there, he immediately reorganized the officials, telling all the officials in the county to be faithful to their duties and to set an example, and warning his subordinates that the law was merciless and not to try the law with their own bodies. There was a subordinate official in the county who was ruthless and ruthless; he had raided a lot of people’s money and the people were very angry with him. The people were very angry with him, but after posting a notice, they still did not see him change his insult, so Wang Zun arrested him and seized millions of stolen silver. After the corrupt official was imprisoned, he died in a few days after falling ill. Then, Wang Zun punished a group of powerful people who committed serious crimes and were unrepentant. In this way, peace was restored in Anding County.
Wang Zun was respected and loved by all the people because he was cynical about evil and enforced the law like a mountain.
Similar Idioms:
- 违法乱纪
- 作奸犯科
