堯、舜故事屢見於儒家經典，傳世文獻中以《尚書•堯典》最稱完整，其中堯嫁二女於舜之舉最為後人津津樂道，但此故事究竟應如何解釋，卻無定論。關於〈堯典〉「釐降」一段，主要詮解有二，一種是以偽孔《傳》為代表，以「釐降」為「以義理下帝女之心」，以「欽哉」為堯歎舜「能脩己行敬以安人」，故二女之所以克行婦道，主要緣於舜能發揮自身德行以教化、改變之，使二女放棄帝女之尊榮，一心委順嫁入民間而不仗勢凌軋夫家。另一種則是以朱子為代表，以「釐降」為堯「治裝而下嫁二女」，以「欽哉」為堯「飭戒二女之詞」，故二女之所以克行婦道與舜無關，主要是聽從了出嫁時父親的勸誡而自行收斂。其中朱子的解釋更加凸出了身為天子的堯在公主婚嫁中的責任與作用，反映了唐、宋帝王以實際行動支持儒家婚姻理念的實況。

The marriage between Shun and Yao’s two daughters is a famous story written in the “Canon of Yao,” The Classic of Documents. People usually interpret it as a test Yao uses to observe Shun’s capability to administer the country in view of its close connection to his domestic management ability. As for the term li-jiang, there are two different kinds of interpretations. The first one, proposed in the fake Confucius’s Commentary, advocates that it should be interpreted as “Yao’s two daughters are reformed by Shun’s splendid morality.” In contrast, Zhu-Zi does not associate this term with Shun’s morality but claims that it is just a description of Yao’s preparation for her daughters’ wedding. It emphasizes and amplifies the emperor’s efforts to restrain her daughters’ behaviors in their marriages. This reflects how the emperors in the Tang and the Song dynasties support Confucian marriage concepts with actual actions.