The traditional virtues of the Chinese nation refer to the excellent moral heritage that has been handed down from China's five thousand years of history, has influence, can be inherited, and is constantly innovated and developed, benefiting future generations. To sum up, it is: the sum of the Chinese nation’s excellent moral character, excellent national spirit, lofty national integrity, noble national emotions and good national habits. It marks the "form" and "soul" of the Chinese nation. It is also the crystallization of the practice of our people in dealing with interpersonal relationships, the relationship between man and society, and the relationship between man and nature for more than two thousand years.

"Benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness" are the core values ??and basic requirements of the traditional virtues of the Chinese nation, which drive the development of the entire social moral system and the improvement of social moral levels. plays an important role in virtue.

China is a country with ancient civilization and a land of etiquette. It values ??virtue and etiquette and has always enjoyed a high reputation in the world. Since ancient times, the traditional virtues of the Chinese nation have always been the moral foundation and ideological foundation for the survival and development of the Chinese nation, and have always been an important spiritual pillar and spiritual driving force for the survival and development of the Chinese nation. The formation and development of the traditional virtues of the Chinese nation have a history of thousands of years. From oral inheritance to written records, the content is broad and profound.

But to sum up, the five elements that have been clarified in historical classics and have basically formed the political consciousness of all dynasties are "benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness". Of course, there are many expressions in traditional morality, but most of them are included in these five elements, or are the extension, enrichment, or development of these five elements.

With the development of history, especially after the Wei and Jin Dynasties, different views and opinions on moral understanding appeared in the official and private sectors, and many discussions were carried out on "benevolence, righteousness, etiquette, wisdom, and trustworthiness". This kind of elaboration has led to new creations and new norms. Despite this, "benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness" as the main structure of traditional morality have not fundamentally changed. Among them, thinkers such as Cheng Hao, Cheng Yi, and Zhu Xi, who were the "top pillars" of Neo-Confucianism in the Song and Ming dynasties, made the most outstanding contributions in this regard.

Er Cheng developed "benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and faith" into the theory of "the four branches of the five constant elements", that is, "the five elements of benevolence, righteousness, etiquette, wisdom, and faith are the nature. Benevolence, the whole; the four, the four "Zhi" means that if "benevolence" is regarded as the whole body, "righteousness, etiquette, wisdom and trust" are the limbs of the body. Zhu Xi put forward the famous conclusion that "benevolence encapsulates the four virtues".