We aim to support your Chinese studies with free resources. In this series, we explore idioms and proverbs, full of meaning. Today’s feature is 「三綱五常」, explained below.
The featured idiom 「三綱五常」 is explained here, including its meaning and how to use it.
The Three Bonds: the ruler is the bond between his subjects, the father is the bond between his sons, and the husband is the bond between his wife. The Five Constant Virtues: benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness. The moral norms between people advocated by feudal ethics.
The Mandarin pronunciation of this idiom is :
sān gāng wǔ cháng
while its Cantonese pinyin is :
saam1 gong1 ng5 seung4
Chinese idioms are vast in number, each carrying unique meanings and usages. With such variety, there’s a lot to learn and appreciate. Hopefully, these resources will aid you on your journey to mastering Chinese.
