Filial Piety: A Virtue Prized Above All Others

In traditional Chinese culture, filial piety — loving, respecting, and caring for one’s parents — is the virtue prized above all others. The following is a modern-day story about how children should practice filial piety. Xiao Li came from a rather poor family in his village, but he was fortunate enough to go to college. After ...

Kathy McWilliams

Elderly Chinese parents pose for a photo with their daughter in a restaurant.

Having Great Virtue Brings You a Brighter Future

At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, Wenliang Yu, a good friend of the great military counselor Liu Bowen, had been known as a virtuous and talented person since he was young. When he grew up, he was quite handsome. However, he was best known for his great virtue, such as righteousness, innocence, and protecting ...

Max Lu

Jiahong Su, a trail guide for the Alishan Forest Railway Management Office of the Taiwan Forestry Bureau, captured the natural beauty of the sunrise, sea of ​​clouds and cloud-fall at Xiaoliyuan's Mountain 360-degree viewing platform.

The Four Anchors Are Traditional Chinese Virtues

The Chinese proverb of the Four Anchors, also known as the Four Social Bonds (四維 sìwéi), represents the sense of propriety, justice, integrity, and honor (禮義廉恥 lǐ yì lián chǐ), which are the traditional Chinese virtues. lǐ (禮) means proper rite, ceremony, propriety, etiquette, courtesy, manners; yì (義) denotes righteousness, justice; lián (廉) signifies honesty, cleanness, incorruptible; chǐ (恥) means shame, a sense ...

Billy Shyu

A Chinese temple.

How Our Ancestors Viewed Wealth, Poverty, and Virtue

In this current cycle of time and space, many things around us, including poverty and wealth, follow certain laws. The criterion our ancestors used to measure wealth and poverty aligned with these laws, especially as far as virtue was concerned. This was quite different from that of our modern thinking. If we look beneath the ...

Tatiana Denning

An ancient Chinese building.

8 Cardinal Virtues in People’s Lives

The 8 Cardinal Virtues refer to 忠 (zhōng), 孝 (xiào), 仁 (rén), 愛 (ài), 信 (xìn), 義 (yì), 和 (hé), and 平 (píng), which are the criteria that Confucius left for people to follow. They are regarded by the Chinese as the moral foundations of society. Failing to behave according to these moral standards, you would not ...

Billy Shyu

A statue of Conficius.

The Mighty Virtue of General Han Xin

The stories about Han Xin and his great forbearance have been passed down for thousands of years. There are so many tales and legends from ancient Chinese history about Han Xin, who was a real-life hero. The end of China’s Qin Dynasty was a period of chaos, and the empire was being conquered by various ...

Helen London

Han Xin.

5 Uplifting Virtues of Jade

Jade is synonymous with Chinese culture, ancient and modern. Jade has been attributed with many fine virtues over the millennia. In this article, we will discuss the traditional “Five Virtues of Jade.” The Five Virtues of Jade are: 1. Benevolence, 2. Righteousness, 3. Intelligence, 4. Courage, 5. Cleanliness. The Chinese philosopher Confucius made jade a ...

Michael Segarty

A carved jade flower..

Accumulation of Virtue by Ancestors and the Prosperity of Future Generations

Do we actually inherit rewards for the goodness accumulated by our ancestors? Some religions believe that we do. Is there a tangible connection between the virtuous lives of our ancestors, their sacrifices, and the prosperity bestowed on later generations? Chinese society is very patriarchal, and they will consider the future of their male offspring in ...

Michael Segarty

Precious stones.

A Tale of Immediate Reward for Virtue and Doing a Good Deed

It is said that a person is rich and prosperous for a reason. Accumulation of virtue, in this life or from previous lives, can be exchanged into wealth and prosperity. This is a true story from the Qing Dynasty of immediate reward for having virtue and doing a good deed. In the Shunzhi era, an elderly ...

Tatiana Denning

A hoard of Chinese coins.