The Three Obediences and Four Virtues (Chinese: 三从四德; pinyin: Sāncóng Sìdé) were a set of basic moral principles specifically for women in Confucianism. The two terms ("three obediences" and "four virtues") first appeared in the Book of Etiquette and Ceremonial and in the Rites of Zhou respectively.
Contents
Three obediences
The three obediences for a woman were to obey:
- her father as a daughter (Chinese: 未嫁从父; pinyin: Wèijià cóngfù)
- her husband as a wife (Chinese: 既嫁从夫; pinyin: Jìjià cóngfū)
- her sons in widowhood (Chinese: 夫死从子; pinyin: Fūsǐ cóngzǐ)
Four virtues
The four feminine virtues were:
- wifeley virtue(Chinese: 妇德; pinyin: Fùdé)
- wifely speech (Chinese: 妇言; pinyin: Fùyán)
- wifely manner/appearance (Chinese: 妇容; pinyin: Fùróng)
- wifely work (Chinese: 妇功; pinyin: Fùgōng)
References
Three Obediences and Four Virtues Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA