本文以《古今圖書集成˙閨孝部》所收480名明代孝婦為核心，分析明代的孝婦形象及其文化史意義。明代入志的孝婦，其孝行絕大部份表現於「侍疾」上面，其中有半數以上的孝婦有「割股療親」的事蹟，而為姑舐目、為親嘗糞等奇行異事亦時有所見。與前代相較，明代孝婦傳記中描述的孝行更富激烈性與新異性，因此，孝婦典範的塑造與流傳,亦 明代節婦烈女一樣，始終瀰漫「以至奇至苦為難能」的風氣。此外，從傳統婦教〈事舅姑〉 的理論及其實踐來看，明代孝婦的形象與節婦時有重疊，能節孝兩全的賢婦所在多有。而處於「孝」與「節」兩難境遇的婦人，則往往抗姑不從，最後以身殉節，成為「貞烈」或「哀貞」的婦德典範。

　　　　　The focus of this article is to analyze the image of the filial women in the Ming, and the meanings of them in the cultural history. The main material is based on the 480 filial married women in the Ming dynasty recorded in Books Collection of Past and Present, Section of Filial Women (古今圖書集成˙閨孝部). Most filial women in the Ming showed their filial behavior by taking care of their ailing parents-in-law. Most of them often cut part of their arm or thing flesh to cure their parents-in-law, such deeds as lick eyes and taste excrement for their parents-in-law are also heard occasionally. Compared with those deeds of former dynasties, we find the filial behavior of Ming's women is in more radical and novel way. Therefore, the paradigm of Ming's filial women demonstrated a fashion of extreme strange and bitterness. Besides, to examine the theory and practice from taking care of parents-in-law" (事舅姑) on traditional educated women, Ming's filial women generally are chaste women at the same time. Most women could play both role of filial and chastity, otherwise they would rather select chastity as the paradigm of female virtue.