Integrating the Five Ethical Codes

This notion first appeared in The Discourses of the States, in which it is stated that "Qi of the Shang Dynasty can integrate the five ethical codes so that people can live in peace." Qi (dates unknown) was the earliest ancestor of the Shang Dynasty (c. 1600-c. 1046 BC) and had once been an official working for Shun, a legendary monarch in ancient China. In ancient times, the five ethical codes were also called "five canons," referring to five ethical requirements within a family: righteousness of father, amiability of mother, amicability of elder brother, politeness of younger brother, and filial piety of son. These requirements were used to educate the people, and also became the foundation for dealing with familial, political and social relations in ancient times. The objective of integrating the five ethical codes is to bring about a harmonious state among these codes. 

In fact, the ancients thought that the people's harmonious life was dependent on moral education. Moral education attaches great importance to the improvement and perfection of individual moral quality, with the aim of reaching the state of "和" (i.e., harmony). In addition, the purpose of moral education is to realize "合" (i.e., unity) of the people, so that "the people can live in peace." Therefore, integrating the five ethical codes is to educate people with these five basic ethical standards, so that social harmony and unity can be achieved on the premise of people's acceptance of these five ethical codes. It is also a fundamental feature of traditional Chinese social governance.

和合五教

和合五教的說法，見于《國語》，所謂“商契能和合五教，以保于百姓者也”。契，是商代的始祖，曾經做過舜的司徒，負責教化。五教，古代也稱“五典”，即父義、母慈、兄友、弟恭、子孝等五種倫理觀念，是古代教化百姓，處理家庭、社會、政治關系的基礎。和合五教，就是使這五種倫理教化達到和諧融洽的狀態。

古人認為，百姓的和諧生活狀態，實際上是經由道德教化而達成的。道德教化重視個體道德修養的提升、道德境界的完善，即達到“和”的狀態。道德教化的目的，則是百姓的“合”，也就是“保于百姓”。因此，和合五教就是從五種基本道德規范的教化出發，在百姓認可接納這五種倫理觀念的前提下，促使社會達到和諧統一的狀態，這也是中國傳統社會治理的基本特點。