Propriety, Righteousness, Integrity, and Shame

Propriety, righteousness, integrity, and shame, of the Eight Virtues of traditional Chinese culture, are categorized as political and social ethics. They were first introduced in the book Guan Zi as four moral bonds to sustain a nation, like four cultural pillars. Among them, propriety refers to a set of social norms and moral rules used to adjust interpersonal relations and maintain social order. It not only stresses many specific rites and rituals, but also cultivates reverence for them. Righteousness means acting upright when making decisions and choices, refraining from seeking self-interests, and taking on collective and public responsibilities. Integrity means restraining selfish desires and covetous thoughts, refusing to take property that does not belong to oneself, and avoiding bribery and corruption. It is usually considered a basic political virtue. Shame refers to a sense of guilt when one realizes that one's actions have violated commonly accepted morals and involves conscious self-examination and correction of one's mistakes in an attempt to seek moral enlightenment. Accusing someone of being shameless is considered sharp criticism.

The Eight Virtues address interpersonal relationship as well as the relationship between people and society. An integral facet of the Chinese cultural values, they are handed down from generation to generation, unconsciously shaping Chinese outlooks on life.

禮義廉恥

“禮義廉恥”是中國傳統“八德”的重要內容，屬于政治和社會倫理范疇。出自《管子·牧民》的“禮義廉恥，國之四維”，指“禮”“義”“廉”“恥”是維系一個國家的四項重要道德原則，就像四根精神支柱。其中，“禮”是調節人際關系、維護社會秩序的行為準則和道德規范，不僅包括大量具體的禮制，更強調培養人們遵循禮的內在恭敬之心；“義”指面對是非善惡要堅持正確的判斷，作出合理的選擇，特別是要超越個人的一己私利，多承擔集體或公共的責任；“廉”指克制自己的私欲和貪念，不占有或收取不屬于自己的財物，避免貪污腐敗，這通常被認為是對官員政德的基本要求；“恥”就是保持羞惡之心，如果做了違背道德原則的事，就會感到羞愧，要反躬自省、改過遷善，實現自我道德約束。說一個人輕薄無禮、無情無義、寡廉鮮恥，對他是一種很嚴厲的批評。

孝悌忠信、禮義廉恥探討了人與人、人與社會的關系。這些道德觀念代代相傳，成為中國人價值體系的重要組成部分，潛移默化地影響和塑造著中華民族的精神氣質。