Why should ancient women abide by three obedience and four virtues? What is three obedience and four virtues?

Definition, origin and development

"Three Obediences and Four Virtues" is a normative requirement put forward by Confucian ethics for women's morality, behavior and self-cultivation all their lives in order to adapt to the stability of patriarchal clan system and safeguard the interests of patriarchal clan system-in-law (ethnic group), according to the principles of "different inside and outside" and "men are superior to women".

The word "three obedience" first appeared in the Confucian classic "Yili? When discussing the number of years of mourning for married women as husbands and fathers (three years for husbands and one year for fathers), The Story of Mourning-Xia Zi said that "women have the meaning of' three obedience' and have no way of' special use', so they don't marry their fathers, but marry their husbands and die their sons". As daughters, wives and mothers, women should obey men. But women have been obedient for a long time, and the word "female" is the image of bending down and kneeling in Oracle Bone Inscriptions in Shang Dynasty (display font); There are hexagrams in the Book of Changes, which advocate that women obey and be single-minded and always serve their husbands. Later, women were asked to be martyred and chaste, and widows were restricted from remarrying.

The word "four virtues" can be found in Zhou Li? Celestial officer? Neizai is the official position of teaching harem women, and is responsible for teaching harem women "lewdness" and "women's duties" step by step. Among them, the "ninth wife" with higher status is "in charge of the law of women's studies to teach nine women to speak, look and be virtuous." It was originally a category of court women's education, and later it was called "three obedience", which became the standard of women's morality, behavior, ability and cultivation, that is, "three obedience and four virtues"