纲常

綱常
gāngcháng
noun

Meanings

  1. 1 cardinal principles
  2. 2 the Three Bonds and Five Constants
  3. 3 moral order

Examples

HSK 5
Wǔsì Yùndòng duì chuántǒng gāngcháng tíchū tiǎozhàn.
The May Fourth Movement challenged traditional moral norms.
HSK 7-9
Gǔrén fēicháng zhòngshì gāngcháng lúnlǐ.
The ancients placed great importance on the cardinal moral principles.
HSK 7-9
Zhè zhǒng xíngwéi wéibèi le gāngcháng.
This kind of behavior violates the cardinal moral code.

Tips

history
Short for 三纲五常 - the Three Bonds (ruler-subject, father-son, husband-wife) and Five Constants (仁 benevolence, 义 righteousness, 礼 propriety, 智 wisdom, 信 trust). Formalized by the Han Confucian Dong Zhongshu (董仲舒) as the moral scaffolding of the imperial order; heavily criticized by modern reformers.

Stroke Order

纲 gāng
常 cháng