Abstract: Large numbers of chaste widow and worthy daughters-in-law appeared in thee records of Shanxi province in Qing Dynasty. This important phenomenon was closely related to the ascendancy of merchants in Shanxi. Most of Shanxi businessmen who engaged in trade usually left their wives at home alone. As pitied victims, most of them independently cared for parents and raised their children without the help of their husbands. In this way, they contributed greatly to the stabilization of the whole society.