Family Instructions

Family instructions or family rules are a genre of traditional Chinese didactic literature that prescribes moral teachings and codes of conduct for the family unit. Typically written by a patriarch or esteemed elder, these texts were intended to guide descendants in proper Confucian behavior, household governance, and personal conducts. They reflect the Confucian belief that good government and social harmony begin with self-cultivation and well-ordered families – cultivate oneself, regulate the family, govern the state, and bring peace to all under heaven. As such, family instructions became a vital means of transmitting Confucian values—filial piety, fraternal love, loyalty, integrity, and ritual propriety—across generations within a family. This tradition evolved over centuries, reaching from early imperial times through the Tang, Song, Ming, and Qing dynasties, and played a significant role in shaping both elite culture and popular ethics in China.

Prominent works

"Admonitions to my son Bo Qin", by Duke of Zhou
"A Letter Admonishing My Son", and "A Letter Admonishing My Nephew", by Zhuge Liang
Family Instructions of the Yan Clan, by Yan Zhitui
"Bao Zheng’s Family Instructions"
Maxims for Managing the Home by Zhu Bolu
Standards for Students: Instructions in Virtue from the Chinese Heritage by Li Yuxiu
Liao-Fan’s Four Lessons by Yuan Huang
Family instructions by Zhang Ying, father of Zhang Tingyu
Family instructions by Zhang Tingyu
of Zeng Guofan