







移风易俗 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to change prevailing habits and customs”. To transform social mores and traditions. Literally, “change wind and transform customs”.
In the early Western Han Dynasty, social order was quite unstable. Although the national strength had somewhat recovered, the prevailing social atmosphere had not seen significant improvement.
Jia Yi, deeply concerned by this issue, submitted a memorial to Emperor Wen. He argued that although the political power had changed, old social habits and lingering customs still persisted. The mission to change these prevailing habits and customs and guide people's hearts towards the right path could not be evaded or merely handled with administrative documents.