Filial piety

Filial piety
Scene from Illustrations of the Classic of Filial Piety (detail), depicting a son kneeling before his parents.[1]
Chinese name
Chinese
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyinxiào
Bopomofoㄒㄧㄠˋ
Wade–Gileshsiao4
Tongyong Pinyinsiào
IPA[ɕjâʊ]
Hakka
Romanizationhaau4
Yue: Cantonese
Yale Romanizationhaau
Jyutpinghaau3
IPA[haw˧]
Southern Min
Hokkien POJhàu
Middle Chinese
Middle ChinesexaewH
Old Chinese
Baxter–Sagart (2014)*qʰˤ<r>uʔ-s
Vietnamese name
Vietnamese alphabethiếu
Chữ Hán
Korean name
Hangul
Hanja
Transcriptions
Revised Romanizationhyo
McCune–Reischauerhyo
Japanese name
Kanji
Hiraganaこう
Transcriptions
Revised Hepburn
Kunrei-shiki

Filial piety is the virtue of exhibiting love and respect for one's parents, elders, and ancestors, particularly within the context of Confucian, Chinese Buddhist, and Daoist ethics.[2] The Confucian Classic of Filial Piety, thought to be written around the late Warring States-Qin-Han period, has historically been the authoritative source on the Confucian tenet of filial piety. The book—a purported dialogue between Confucius and his student Zengzi—is about how to set up a good society using the principle of filial piety. Filial piety is central to Confucian role ethics.

In more general terms, filial piety means to be good to one's parents; to take care of one's parents; to engage in good conduct, not just towards parents but also outside the home so as to bring a good name to one's parents and ancestors; to show love, respect, and support; to display courtesy; to ensure male heirs; to uphold fraternity among brothers; to wisely advise one's parents, including dissuading them from moral unrighteousness; to display sorrow for their sickness and death; and to bury them and carry out sacrifices after their death.[citation needed]

Filial piety is considered a key virtue in Chinese and other East Asian cultures, and it is the main subject of many stories. One of the most famous collections of such stories is The Twenty-four Cases of Filial Piety. These stories depict how children exercised their filial piety customs in the past. While China has always had a diversity of religious beliefs, the custom of filial piety has been common to almost all of them; historian Hugh D.R. Baker calls respect for the family the one element common to almost all Chinese people.[citation needed]

  1. ^ Ebrey, Patricia Buckley. "Paintings with political agendas". A Visual Sourcebook of Chinese Civilization. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
  2. ^ Kohn 2004, passim.