贞节牌坊

貞節牌坊
zhēnjié páifang
noun

Measure Word

Meanings

  1. 1 chastity arch, a memorial arch built to honor a chaste widow

Examples

HSK 6
Cūnkǒu lì zhe yí zuò Qīngdài de zhēnjié páifang.
A Qing-dynasty chastity arch stands at the entrance to the village.
HSK 6
Yí zuò zhēnjié páifang bèihòu, wǎngwǎng shì yí ge nǚrén jǐshí nián de gūdú.
Behind each chastity arch there was often a woman's decades of loneliness.

Tips

culture
In imperial China the court granted these arches to widows who never remarried, often after decades alone, or who died to keep their chastity, and families counted them a great honor. Today 立牌坊 'to put up an arch' is a sneer at someone who wants credit for a virtue they do not practice.

Stroke Order

贞 zhēn
节 jié
牌 pái
坊 fāng