The Three Obediences and Four Virtues (Chinese: 三從四德; pinyin: Sāncóng Sìdé; Vietnamese: Tam tòng, tứ đức) is a set of moral principles and social code of behavior for maiden and married women in East Asian Confucianism, especially in ancient and imperial China.
Women were to obey their fathers, husbands, and sons, and to be modest and moral in their actions and speech.
The two terms ("three obediences" and "four virtues") first appeared in the Book of Etiquette and Ceremonial and in the Rites of Zhou respectively, which codified the protocol for an elegant and refined culture for Chinese civilization.
The protocol was originally meant to define the various parts of a harmonious society and was not intended as a rule book.
[1] The Three Obediences instruct that a woman is obligated not to act on her own initiatives and must submissively obey or follow:[2][3][4][5] The Four Feminine Virtues are:[6][7][8][9] Ban Zhao (49–120 CE), the first known female Chinese historian, elaborated on these in her treatise Lessons for Women (Chinese: 女誡; pinyin: Nǚjiè; Wade–Giles: Nuchieh):[10][11] Speaking about these four, woman's virtue requires neither unparalleled talents nor exceeding brilliance; woman's speech requires neither rhetorical eloquence nor sharp words; woman's appearance requires neither a beautiful nor a splendid look or form; woman's work demands no unsurpassable skills.Exhibit tranquility (you 幽 [/ qing 清]), unhurried composure (xian 閒/閑), chastity (zhen 貞), and quietude (jing 靜).