Appreciation of China's Traditional Virtues —— Four Dimensions and Eight Virtues

The Traditional Virtue of the Chinese Nation —— Four Dimensions and Eight Virtues

Witty words; Punchline

The four dimensions are courtesy, justice, honesty and shame. Eight virtues are loyalty, filial piety, benevolence, love, faith, righteousness, harmony and peace.

Classical explanation

The theory of "four dimensions" was first seen in Guanzi Herdsmen: "Courtesy, righteousness, honesty and shame, four dimensions of the country, four dimensions can not be opened, and the country dies." Guan Zhong attaches great importance to the role of morality in the process of governing the country, and regards propriety, righteousness, honesty and shame as the four major programs of governing the country, so it is named "four dimensions", and the original meaning of "dimension" is the rope that binds things. Guan Zhong regards propriety, righteousness, honesty and shame as "the four dimensions of the country" and advocates extensive education and compulsory execution. The "four dimensions" put forward by Guan Zhong has a far-reaching influence on later generations.

After the Song Dynasty, eight virtues were formed, namely, filial piety, loyalty, faithfulness, courtesy, righteousness, honesty and shame. Here again, the "four dimensions" proposed by Guan Zhong are mentioned. "Eight virtues" do not include the benevolence of Confucianism, and put "filial piety" before "loyalty" and family morality first. With the development of China's agricultural society, the family-led agricultural economy has become increasingly stable and developed, and the role of "home" in agricultural economic development and social stability has become increasingly prominent. "Home" is the foundation of "country", and "home and everything prosper", so "governing the country" should take "keeping the family in order" as the first priority. Therefore, starting from the dialectical relationship between "family" and "country", the Song Dynasty emphasized "filial piety" and put it in front of "loyalty", which was also the creation of sizing up the situation. During the period of the Republic of China, Sun Yat-sen and Cai Yuanpei put forward the new "Eight Virtues" of "loyalty, filial piety, benevolence, love, faithfulness, righteousness, harmony and peace", which is a masterpiece of "combining Chinese style with western use" and integrating the moral essence of China and the West.