“The Three Cardinal Guides and the Five Constant Virtues” and the Culture Codes——The relationships reflected in Chinese characters between emperor and minister, father and son, husband and wife
The three cardinal guides and the five constant virtues,advocated by Zhongshu Dong in Han dynasty,are the core contents of the feudal ethical spirit.As it had dominated the national spirit for two thousand years,its influences to people’s characters were deep into the soul.However,in the practical society,the principle of the feudal moral conduct was not initiated by Zhongshu Dong in his theory.Based on the research of relevant Chinese characters radical,a fact could be confirmed:in ancient times,the relationship between emperor and minister,father and son,husband and wife was not equal,and the inequality was not accidental,but determined by the former productivity level and the mode of production.