Ancient China - Filial Piety

 

Filial piety  in Ancient China

 

 

In ancient China, filial piety (Chinese: xiao, 孝) was considered the "root of all virtue" and the primary foundation for social and political stability. It represents the respect, devotion, and care children owe their parents, elders, and ancestors.

Core Concept and Evolution

The Chinese character for filial piety, 孝, depicts a son (子) carrying an elderly person (老), symbolizing the support the younger generation provides to the old.

• Origins: Its roots lie in prehistoric ancestor worship. Earliest textual references appear on Shang Dynasty oracle bones (c. 1000 BCE), where it primarily meant providing food offerings to deceased ancestors.
• Confucian Formalization: Confucius (551–479 BCE) transformed xiao into a moral precept, calling it the basis of ren (humanity). His teachings were codified in the Classic of Filial Piety (Xiaojing), a foundational text used in Chinese education for over 2,000 years.
• State Ideology: By the Han Dynasty (206 BCE – 220 CE), the principle of "governing the country with filial piety" became mainstream. Loyalty to the ruler was seen as a direct extension of filial piety toward one's father. 

Key Practices and Rituals

 

Filial piety involved strict behavioral and ritual obligations: 

• Life Care: Providing material support (food, shelter, clothing) and spiritual comfort to parents while they are alive.
• Funeral and Mourning: Performing elaborate burial rites and observing a three-year mourning period, during which children often abstained from entertainment and fine clothing.
• Ancestral Rites: Continued worship and sacrifices for deceased ancestors to maintain the family line.
• Lineage: Producing male heirs to carry on the family name and ensure the continuation of ancestral sacrifices. 

Famous Tales (Twenty-Four Filial Exemplars)

Compiled during the Yuan Dynasty, these stories highlighted extreme acts of devotion: 

• Wu Meng: An eight-year-old who allowed mosquitoes to feast on his blood so they would not bite his parents.
• Guo Ju: A poor man who prepared to bury his young son to ensure his elderly mother had enough to eat, only to be rewarded by "Heaven" with a pot of gold.
• Lao Lai-tzu: A 70-year-old man who dressed in colorful children's clothes and acted like an infant to amuse his parents.

 

Visual Representations of Filial Piety