Filial Piety, Fraternal Duty, Loyalty, and Good Faith

Filial Piety, Fraternal Duty, Loyalty, and Good Faith

The Eight Virtues of traditional Chinese culture are filial piety, fraternal duty, loyalty, good faith, propriety, righteousness, integrity, and shame. They are usually split into two sets of moral values because the Chinese prefer four-character expressions. In the first set (filial piety, fraternal duty, loyalty, and good faith), filial piety requires children to respect the opinions of their parents and elders and take care of them when they are old. Fraternal duty refers to love, mutual respect, and courtesy demonstrated among brothers and sisters. Loyalty mainly refers to the deep allegiance pledged by subjects to the monarch in ancient times. Today, it could be used to describe patriotism or a responsible employee. Good faith requires people to act credibly and honestly abide by an agreement or contract with others. In China, accusing someone of being unfilial or disloyal is considered particularly sharp criticism.

Filial piety and fraternal duty are generally family ethics while loyalty and good faith are political and social ethics, with the former serving as the foundation of the latter. These moral values, which aim to foster sound interpersonal relationships, are still deeply rooted in the life of Chinese people today.

孝悌忠信

“孝、悌、忠、信、礼、义、廉、耻”合称“八德”，是中国传统文化重视的八种道德条目。由于汉字多四字连言的组合，所以又可以分为“孝悌忠信”和“礼义廉耻”两组道德观念。在“孝悌忠信”中，“孝”是指子女要尊重父母和长辈的意见，并履行赡养的义务；“悌”就是兄弟姐妹之间要相亲相爱，相互尊敬和谦让；“忠”在古代主要指臣子要尽心竭力地为君主服务，今天多指人民要真诚地热爱自己的祖国，也指一个人在工作中要做到认真负责，不能敷衍了事；“信”多用来表示做人要讲诚信，诚实地遵守与他人的约定或契约。在中国人看来，不忠不孝、言而无信是对一个人非常严厉的批评。

孝、悌是家庭伦理，忠、信属于政治和社会伦理，孝、悌是忠、信的基础。这些道德观念描述了人与人之间的良性关系，至今仍然深深影响着中国人的生活。