For the Confucianists, the natural view of morality was that "families which accumulate virtuous actions are storing up good fortune, while families which accumulate evil actions are storing up ill fortune." An individual's actions might shield his descendants from harm, or pass on misfortune to them.
在儒家而言，自然道德觀念是「積善之家有餘慶，積惡之家有餘殃」，個人作為可以庇蔭或禍延子孫。