A Brief Introduction to the Author of Seeking Twenty-four Filial Pieties

The author of Twenty-four Filial Pieties was Guo, Han nationality and Youxi (now Youxi County in central Fujian) in Yuan Dynasty. Guo is a well-read man who likes to write poems, which was quite famous at that time. He is filial by nature. His parents, Xie Shishi, were very sad and mourned the destruction of the gift, so they made up Dashun, Wendi, Zeng Shen, Min Min, Zhong You, Tan Zi, Lao Laizi, Jiang Ge, Lu Ji, Mrs. Tang, Wu Meng, Wang Xiang and so on. Later, scholars thought that Confucius was the first person to systematically discuss filial piety. He regards "paying tribute to the family, bringing happiness to upbringing, worrying about illness, being strict in funeral and sacrifice" as five criteria to measure whether filial piety is fulfilled. Respect for the family ranks first to show filial piety, and it is also meaningful to use Guo as the author of the book. Since the Western Han Dynasty, rulers of all dynasties have advocated respecting Confucius and regarded Confucianism as their ruling ideology. As an important part of Confucianism, filial piety, like loyalty, is regarded as the standard of a person's moral quality. "Both loyalty and filial piety" is regarded as the most perfect evaluation of a person and has become the goal of people's moral pursuit. Since ancient times, many filial sons and daughters have been highly praised, and even a monument has been erected. The memorial archway of filial piety left behind can still be seen in some places. Because the Yuan Dynasty was ruled by an alien race, it was somewhat unacceptable to the Han nationality influenced by Confucianism. In addition, the darkness of society and the decline of the world make the intensification of ethnic contradictions inevitable. Guo, a scholar in Han Dynasty, based on Poems of Filial Piety in Song Dynasty, refined and sorted out the stories of 24 filial sons and daughters in history, which was also in line with people's thoughts and practices at that time. Although some scholars think that filial piety culture is the curse that imprisons China's thoughts, Twenty-four Filial Pieties has a profound influence on China culture, among which feudal preaching and superstitious thoughts have contributed greatly, which have the limitations of the times and need to be criticized. However, we have the responsibility and obligation to continue to inherit and carry forward the fine traditions of filial piety and respect for elders. Text/Yao Yanping