Filial Piety: Appreciating the Cycle of Asian Justice

Filial Piety is the central part of a Confucian value system concerned with the need to produce beneficial patterns from children who are expected to care for their parents. According to Confucius, a variety of virtues are needed to maintain a strong society: filial piety, righteousness, love, loyalty, sincerity, justice, tranquility, moderation, and harmony.

Filial piety remains the most important.

Even in today's Marxist/Capitalist society of China, filial piety is still valued. In some Chinese ghost stories, this virtue also appears. "Indeed, in zhiguai generally one can find stories that carry moral messages, such as promoting the virtue of righteousness, filial piety, or loyalty " (Poo 53).

The Classic of Filial Piety by Xiao Jing is the key text of Confucian value. The text is in conversation format between Confucius and his pupil, Zeng Zi. The key aspect of this Confucian value system is its patriarchal pattern where the son is expected to be the true model of filial piety, specifically the eldest son.

Indeed, the original Chinese character or ideograph for filial piety is xiao which is composed of two characters: lao (old) and zi (son) (Ikels). It is the duty of the son, especially the eldest son to care for his parents. This son is expected to sacrifice almost everything for his parents. His purpose in life is to take care of his parents.

Thus, filial piety is about maintaining obedience between familial relationships, especially between the father and son. That key relationship becomes the model for all relationships in society which follows a prescribed hierarchy of power: father-son, husband-wife, and then older brother-younger brother. Other social relationships are also modeled on such relationships: emperor-minister, and teacher-student. Even friend-friend relationship if one is considered older.

Works Cited

Ikels, Charlotte. Ed. Filial Piety: Practice and Discourse in Contemporary East Asia. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2004.

Poo, Mu-Chou. "Ghost Literature: Exorcistic Ritua Ikels, Charlotte. Ed. Filial Piety: Practice and Discourse in Contemporary East Asia. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2004.

Filial Piety: The Cycle of Justice Part 2

Filial piety originated in China and expanded to Korea, Japan and other Asian countries influenced by China's political and economic powers. As Asian families immigrated to America, they brought such values of filial obligations with them. However, filial piety often conflicted with Western society that values independence and individuality. Asian American literature is full of stories about how the "Americanized" children of Asian families often had problems dealing with such conflicts as they tried to fit in and also still show respect toward their parents.

When Buddhism first tried to become part of Chinese culture, it was rejected. After all Lord Buddha left his parents to become enlightened. This act showed a poor example of filial piety. For Buddhism to succeed in China, it had to emphasize stories about filial piety.

Another important pedagogical text was The Twenty-four Paragons of Filial Piety which was written by the Yuan Dynasty (1280-1368 CE) scholar Guo Jujing, who was from the Fujian Province. This text was created primarily for children. Such stories show how parents should be the primary focus of one's life. A dutiful son will divorce a bad daughter-in-law, fight demons, and starve for his parents.

Though these stories go to extremes, such are the nature of children's fables world wide. In one tale, Kuo Ju, an obedient son, decides to kill his only child, a son, so that there would be enough food to feed his mother. As he digs the grave so he can bury his son alive, he discovers gold. The moral of the story is not that one should sacrifice one's son, but that one will be rewarded for such extreme sacrifice. His son is kept alive.

Filial Piety: The Cycle of Justice Part 3

"The most famous ghost story, for Buddhist audience . . . was the story of Mulian" (Poo 62). This story became important part of the Ghost Festival emphasizing filial piety where the son enters hell to literally save his mother, as suggested by Lord Buddha.

Such stories become powerful reminders of how children should react toward their parents. In another story, a son even cuts part of his own body to feed his parent as medicine. In "Joy Luck Club" (1989), Amy Tan mentions a similar story of making soup out of flesh to feed a parent. Even in death and after, children must remain loyal to their parents.

Works Cited

Ikels, Charlotte. Ed. Filial Piety: Practice and Discourse in Contemporary East Asia. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2004.

Poo, Mu-Chou. "Ghost Literature: Exorcistic Ritual Texts or Daily Entertainment." Asia Major 13. 1 (2000): 43-63.

Works Consulted

Ch'en, Kenneth. "Filial Piety in Chinese Buddhism." Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies. 28 (1968): 81-97.

Janelli, Roger L. and Dawnhee Yim." The Transformation of Filial Piety in Contemporary South Korea. In Ikels, Charlotte. Ed. Filial Piety: Practice and Discourse in Contemporary East Asia . Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2004. 128-152.

Hashimoto, Akiko. "Culture, Power, and the Discourse of Filial Piety in Japan: The Disempowerment of Youth and Its Social Consequences." In Ikels, Charlotte. Ed. Filial Piety: Practice and Discourse in Contemporary East Asia. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2004. 182-197.

Mo, Weimin and Wenju Shen. "The Twenty-Four Paragons of Filial Piety: Their Didactic Role and Impact on Children's Lives." Children's Literature Association. 24.1 (1999): 15-23.

Thank you for reading. . . I met Amy Tan in person and learned to respect my elders from my North Korean mother.