Widow chastity

Chastity or moral integrity (貞節, *zhēnjié*) memorial

Widow chastity (Chinese: 貞節) was an ideal in traditional Chinese cultural practices and beliefs that honored widowed women and discouraged their remarriage, encouraging them instead to live a life of "virtuous chastity".^[1] The idea of widow chastity has a long history in China, but the emphasis on the practice is believed to have its origin among Song dynasty Neo-Confucians,^[2] and reached a culmination and eventual end in the Qing era.^[1]

^ ^a ^b Theiss, Janet. "Female Suicide, Subjectivity and the State in Eighteenth-Century China." Gender History, vol. 16, no. 3, 2004, pp. 513–537., doi:10.1111/j.0953-5233.2004.00354.x.
^ Cite error: The named reference hsiang was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[:0-1] Theiss, Janet. "Female Suicide, Subjectivity and the State in Eighteenth-Century China." Gender History, vol. 16, no. 3, 2004, pp. 513–537., doi:10.1111/j.0953-5233.2004.00354.x.

[hsiang-2] Cite error: The named reference hsiang was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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