page_title: Four Cardinal Principles and Eight Virtues
section_title: Four Cardinal Principles
hierarchical_section_title: Four Cardinal Principles and Eight Virtues / Four Cardinal Principles
caption_attribution_description: 中文（简体）‎: 在台湾各地国小可见的“礼义廉耻”匾牌
context_page_description: The Four Cardinal Principles and Eight Virtues are a set of Confucian foundational principles of morality. The Four Cardinal Principles are propriety, righteousness, integrity, and shame. The Eight Virtues are loyalty, filial piety, benevolence love, honesty justice, harmony, and peace.
context_section_description: The Four Cardinal Principles are also referred to as the fundamental principles of conduct, or four social bonds. They are derived from the Legalist text Guanzi, attributed to the Qi philosopher Guan Zhong, although it is unlikely he was the actual author. The Four Cardinal Principles can be understood as:
  Lǐ (禮) - the rites, ritual; originally referring to the major Confucian duties, such as ancestor worship and issues of appropriate behaviour between generations. The concept was later expanded to all manner of ritualised cultural life. Within the Confucian tradition, the purpose of ritual was to engage in a continuous process of applying appropriate behaviours, taking the correct frame of mind when doing so, as a way to shape one's thinking and reinforce moral character.
  Yì (義) - righteousness; refers to both correct conduct, and the rejection of improper behaviour and dishonour. The concept is also heavily intertwined with Confucian ideas of filial piety and the correct social order.
  Lián (廉) - integrity; refers to always being 'upright' in one's behaviour.
  Chǐ (恥) - shame; refers to the appropriate response one should feel towards inappropriate behaviour; it is considered one of the means by which individuals judge right from wrong. Within the Legalist Confucian tradition, "shame" was considered the more effective means of controlling the behaviour of the population, as opposed to punishment, as it allowed individuals to recognise their transgression and engage in self-improvement.
  In some renderings of the principles, the concept of chi is replaced with honour (耻).
  In a speech in 1934, Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek invoked the importance of the four principles as a guide for the New Life Movement.  The movement was an attempt to reintroduce Confucian principles into everyday life in China as a means to create national unity and act as a bulwark against communism.
  The four pockets on a Sun Yat-sen-style suit jacket are said to represent these four principles.
caption: The Four Principles of Chinese Morality. This shows the alternate 4th principle of 'honour'.
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