Stories such as "The widow cutting off her arm" (after it had been accidentally touched by a man) and "An injured breast left untreated" (because exposure to the doctor's gaze would have been worse than death) were taken as models and ideals and widely promoted. The saying that "to starve to death is a trifling matter compared to being unchaste" was seen as the height of wisdom.
而類似「寡婦斷臂」、「乳傷不醫」的故事，被當成楷模、典範，大大地宣揚；「餓死事小，失節事大」被視為至理名言。