What are the stories of the twenty-four filial piety characters?

"Filial piety" is the core of Confucian ethical thinking, is the moral code that has sustained family relations in Chinese society for thousands of years, is a traditional virtue of the Chinese nation, and is the essence of the traditional culture of the Chinese nation. In the Yuan Dynasty, Guo Jujing compiled the stories of 24 filial sons in ancient times into the Twenty-four Filial Piety, which became a popular book to promote filial piety. 01 Filial Piety Moves Heaven Shun, the legendary ancient emperor, one of the five emperors, surnamed Yao, first name Chonghua, numbered Yu Clan, historically known as Yu Shun. According to legend, his father, Goze, and his stepmother and half-brother, Xiang, tried to kill him many times: when he was asked to repair the roof of a barn, he set fire to the barn, but Shun escaped by jumping down with two hats in his hands; when he was asked to dig a well, Goze and Xiang filled it with earth, but Shun escaped by digging a tunnel. Afterward, Shun did not feel any resentment, but remained obedient to his father and compassionate to his brother. His filial piety touched the Heavenly Emperor. When Shun plowed in Li Mountain, elephants plowed the land for him and birds hoe the grass for him. Emperor Yao heard that Shun was very filial and had the ability to handle political affairs, and married his two daughters, E Huang and N Ying, to him; after years of observation and testing, he chose Shun to be his successor. After Shun ascended to the throne of heaven, he visited his father and remained respectful, and made Xiang a vassal. 02 Tasting the Soup with His Own Eyes Liu Heng, Emperor Wen of Han Dynasty, the third son of Emperor Gaozu of Han Dynasty, was born to Empress Dowager Bo. Liu Heng was born to Empress Dowager Bo. He became emperor in the eighth year of the reign of Empress Dowager Gao (180 BC). Liu Heng was famous for his filial piety and never neglected to serve his mother. When his mother was sick for three years, he often did not see her and did not take care of her clothes; he tasted the medicines she took before letting her take them. He reigned for 24 years, emphasizing the rule of morality, rituals, attention to the development of agriculture, so that the Western Han Dynasty social stability, prosperity, economic recovery and development, he and the reign of Emperor Jingdi of the Han Dynasty is known as the "rule of Wenjing". 03 Zeng Sen (曾参) was a native of the state of Lu during the Spring and Autumn Period. He was a favorite disciple of Confucius and was known as Zeng Zi (曾子). When he was a young man, his family was poor and he used to go into the mountains to fetch firewood. One day, when there was a guest in the house, his mother, not knowing what to do, bit her finger with her teeth. Suddenly, Zeng Sen felt his heart ache and knew that his mother was calling him, so he quickly returned home with the firewood on his back and knelt down to ask the reason. His mother said, "A guest has suddenly arrived, and I am biting my finger in anticipation of your return." Zeng Sen then received the guest and treated him with courtesy. Zeng Sen was a learned man who proposed the cultivation method of "I save myself three times a day" ("Analects - Xue而"), and it is said that he authored Confucian classics such as The Great Learning and The Book of Filial Piety, and was honored by Confucians in later times as "Zong Sheng" (宗圣). 04 Hundred Miles of Negative Rice Zhong Yu (仲由), with the characters of Zi Lu (子路) and Ji Lu (季路), was a native of the state of Lu during the Spring and Autumn Period, and was the favorite disciple of Confucius. In his early years, his family was so poor that he used to pick wild vegetables to make his own food, but he carried rice home from a hundred miles away to serve his parents. After the death of his parents, he became a great official and was ordered to go to the state of Chu, where he was accompanied by a hundred carriages and horses and accumulated ten thousand bells of grain. Sitting on the stacked brocade mattresses and eating sumptuous feasts, he often missed his parents and lamented, "Even if I want to eat wild vegetables and carry rice for my parents, where can I get it again?" Confucius praised him, saying, "You have served your parents to the best of your ability in life, and you miss them in death!" (Confucius' Family Words - Zhisi) 05 芦衣顺母 Min Lian (闵损), with the character Ziqian (子骞), was a native of the state of Lu during the Spring and Autumn Period, and a disciple of Confucius, who was known in the Confucius Sect for his virtues and behavior, along with Yan Yuan. Confucius once praised him, saying, "Filial piety, Min Ziqian!" (Analects - Advanced). His birth mother died early, and his father took a stepmother and had two more sons. His stepmother often mistreated him. In winter, his two younger brothers wore winter clothes made of cotton, but he was given "cotton clothes" made of rushes. One day, when his father went out, Min Loss was shivering from the cold when he was leading the car and dropped the rope on the ground, he was reprimanded and whipped by his father, and the rushes flew out with the broken seams of his coat, and his father realized that Min Loss was being mistreated. The father returns home and wants to banish his wife. Min Lian knelt down and begged his father to forgive his stepmother, saying, "If I leave my mother behind, I will only be cold, but if I leave my mother behind, all three of my children will be cold." The father was very touched and obeyed him. When his stepmother heard of this, she repented of her mistake and treated him like her own son from then on. 06 Deer's Milk for Kisses Tantan Zi was a man in the Spring and Autumn Period. His parents were old and suffered from eye disease, which needed to be cured by drinking deer's milk. So he went into the mountains with his deer skin on and entered a herd of deer, squeezed the milk and offered it to his parents. Once to get milk, saw the hunter was about to shoot a muntjac deer, Tantzi hastily lifted the deer skin out of the present, will squeeze the deer milk for both parents of the truth told the hunter, the hunter honored his filial piety, to the milk of the deer to give, escort him out of the mountain. 07 Playing with colors to entertain his parents Lao Laizi, a hermit of Chu during the Spring and Autumn Period, escaped from the chaos of the world and ploughed his own land in the southern foothills of Mount Meng. His filial piety to his parents, as much as possible to choose the delicious offerings for both parents, 70 years old is not old, often wearing five-color clothes, holding rattles like children play, in order to win the parents happy. Once for his parents to bring water, into the house fell, he was afraid of his parents sad, so lie down on the ground to learn children crying, the two old man laughed. 08 Selling his body to bury his father Dong Yong, rumored to be a native of Qianxian (present-day Gaocheng County, Shandong Province, north) during the Eastern Han Dynasty, lost his mother when he was a young boy, and moved to Anlu (present-day Hubei Province) to avoid military turmoil. When his father died, Dong Yong sold himself to a rich family as a slave in exchange for funeral expenses. On his way to work, he met a woman under the shade of an acacia tree who said she had no home to go to, and the two were married. The woman took one month to weave 300 pieces of brocade for Dong Yong to redeem his debt. On the way back home, when they arrived at the shade of the locust tree, the woman told Dong Yong that she was the daughter of the Heavenly Emperor, and had been ordered to help Dong Yong pay off his debt. After saying this, she left in the air. As a result, the name of the village was changed to Xiaogan. 09 carve wood to serve his parents Ding Lan, according to legend for the Eastern Han Dynasty Hanoi (now Henan Yellow River North) people, his parents died in early childhood, he often misses his parents' nurturing grace, so he used wood to carve into a statue of his parents, things as if he were alive, all things are and the wooden image of the discussion, the three meals a day to honor his parents before they eat, and before going out to the door to be sure to report, and after returning home to be sure to face the, and never slack off. Over time, his wife on the wooden statue will not be too respectful, and even curiously use a needle to prick the wooden statue's fingers, and the wooden statue's fingers actually have blood flow. Ding Lan went home to see the wooden statue tears in the eyes, asked to know the truth, so his wife repudiated. 10 line maid for mother Jiang Ge, the Eastern Han Dynasty, Qi Linzi people, teenagers lost his father, serving his mother extremely filial piety. In the war, Jiang Ge carried his mother to escape, several times encountered bandits and thieves, thieves want to kill him, Jiang Ge cried: elderly mother, no one to support, the thieves see his filial piety, could not bear to kill him. Later, he moved to Xiapi, Jiangsu Province, to work as a hired laborer to support his mother, his own poverty and barefoot, while his mother needed a lot. He was elected as a filial piety lian by Emperor Ming, and was elected as a virtuous and righteous man by Emperor Zhang, and served as a general of the Five Officials. 11 Wistful Oranges and Relatives Lu Jie (陆绩), a scientist, was a native of Huating (present-day Songjiang, Shanghai), Wu County, State of Wu during the Three Kingdoms period. When he was six years old, he accompanied his father, Lu Kang, to visit Yuan Shu in Jiujiang, where Yuan Shu brought out oranges to entertain him, and Lu Jie hid two oranges in his bosom. When the oranges fell to the ground on his way out, Yuan Shu laughed and said, "Lu Lang came to my house as a guest, but when you leave, do you still want to hide your master's oranges in your arms?" Lu Jie replied, "Mother likes to eat oranges, and I want to take them back to my mother to try." Yuan Shu was amazed to see that he knew how to be filial to his mother at such a young age. When Lu Jie became an adult, he was a learned man who was well versed in astronomy and calendars. He made the "Hun Tian Tu", annotated the "I Ching", and wrote the "Tai Xuan Jing Annotations". 12 Burying a Child to Serve His Mother Guo Ju, a native of Longxi (present-day Linxian County, Henan Province) in the Jin Dynasty, or a native of Wenxian County (present-day Wenxian County, Henan Province, southwest of China) in Hanoi, was originally a well-off family man. After his father's death, he divided the family's property into two parts, giving it to his two younger brothers, and took his mother's support alone, and was extremely filial to her. After the gradual impoverishment of the family, his wife gave birth to a boy, Guo Ju was worried that raising this child would inevitably affect the support of his mother, so he and his wife discussed: "The son can be again, the mother can not be resurrected after death, it is better to bury the son and save some food for the mother." When they dug the pit, two feet underground, suddenly saw an altar of gold, written on the "Heavenly Guo Ju, the official shall not take, the people shall not take". The couple got the gold and went home to honor their mother and raise their children. 13 Fan pillow and warm bedding Huang Xiang, Jiangxia Anlu people in the Eastern Han Dynasty, lost his mother at the age of nine, his father extremely filial. In the cool summer, he would fan his father's pillow; in the winter, he would warm his father's bedding with his body. When he was a young man, he was a master of the classics and a brilliant writer, and it was widely rumored in the capital that he was "unrivaled in the world: Huang Tong of Jiangxia". During the reign of Emperor An (107-125), he was the governor of Wei County (now Hebei). When Wei County was flooded, Huang Xiang did his best to help the victims. Huang Xiang did everything he could to help the victims. He was the author of Jiu Gong Fu and Ode to the Crown of the Son of Heaven. 14 Gathering Mulberry Different Weapons Cai Shun, Han Dynasty Runan (now belongs to Henan Province), a young man lost his father, his mother is very filial. At that time when the Wang Mang chaos, and encountered famine, firewood and rice is expensive, only to pick up mulberry mother and child to fill the hunger. One day, met the Red Eyebrows army, the soldiers asked in a stern voice: "Why put the red mulberry and black mulberry in two separate baskets?" Cai Shun replied, "The black mulberry is for my mother to eat, and the red mulberry is for myself." The Red Eyebrows took pity on his filial piety and gave him three buckets of white rice and a cow, which he took back to his mother as a token of respect. 15 Gushing Spring Leaping Carp Jiang Shi, a native of Guanghan, Sichuan Province in the Eastern Han Dynasty, married Pang. The couple was filial. Their home was six or seven miles away from the Yangtze River, and Pang often went to the river to fetch her mother-in-law's favorite water from the Yangtze. Granny loved fish, the couple often made fish for her to eat, Granny was not willing to eat alone, they invited the neighboring grannies to eat with them. When Pang returned late from fetching water due to high winds, Jiang Shi suspected her of neglecting her mother and expelled her from the house. Pang stayed with a neighbor, spinning and weaving day and night, and sending her savings home to her mother-in-law. When her mother-in-law found out about Pang's expulsion, she asked Jiang Shi to bring her home. On the day of Pang's return, a spring suddenly gushed out from the courtyard, with the same taste as the water of the Yangtze River, and two carp jumped out every day. From then on, Pang used these to make offerings to her mother-in-law and did not have to travel far from the river. 16 WENLEI Sobbing Tomb Wang裒, Wei and Jin period Yingling (now southeast of Shandong Changle), erudite and versatile. His father, Wang Yi, was killed by Sima Zhao, and he lived in seclusion to teach as a profession, and never sat facing the west, stating that he would never be a minister of Jin. When his mother was alive, she was afraid of thunder and was buried in the mountains after her death. Whenever he heard thunder in stormy weather, he ran to his mother's grave, knelt down and comforted her, saying, "The rich son is here, mother don't be afraid." When he was teaching, whenever he read the chapter of Polygonum, he often burst into tears and missed his parents. 17 The Nursing Aunt is not idle Cui Shannan, name, the Tang Dynasty Boling (now belongs to Hebei), the official to the West Road Festival Minister in Shannan, known as "Shannan". Back then, Cui Shannan's great-grandmother Mrs. Chang Sun, old age, tooth loss, grandmother Mrs. Tang is very filial, every day after washing, are on the hall with their own milk to feed her mother-in-law, so several years, Mrs. Chang Sun no longer eat other meals, the body is still healthy. When Mrs. Chang Sun was seriously ill, she gathered the whole family together and said, "I can't repay my new wife's kindness, but I wish her children and grandchildren-in-law would honor her as she honored me." Later, Cui Shannan became a high-ranking official and really honored his grandmother, Mrs. Tang, as Mrs. Changsun had instructed him to do. 18 Wang Xiang (王祥), a native of Langya (琅琊), was deprived of his father's love when his mother died early and his stepmother Zhu (朱氏) spoke ill of him in front of his father many times. Parents are sick, he was not dressed to wait, stepmother wanted to eat live carp, when the cold, he unclothed lying on the ice, the ice suddenly melted on its own, jumped out of the two carp. After his stepmother ate them, she recovered from her illness. Wang Xiang lived in seclusion for more than twenty years, and later became a magistrate of Wen County, and later became the chief of the county of Wen, and then the chief of the county of Sikong, and a lieutenant of the state. 19 Applying mosquitoes and satiating blood Wu Mang, a native of Puyang in the Jin Dynasty, knew how to honor his parents when he was eight years old. His family was poor and had no mosquito nets, so his father could not sleep peacefully because of mosquito bites. Every summer night, Wu Mang always sat naked in front of his father's bed, letting the mosquitoes bite without repelling them, worrying that they would leave him to bite his father. 20 Saving his father by strangling a tiger Yang Xiang was a native of the Jin Dynasty. Fourteen years old with his father to cut rice in the field, suddenly ran a tiger, the father pounced on the grips away, Yang Xiang unarmed, in order to save his father, total disregard for their own safety, hastily jumped forward, and used all his body strength to choke the tiger's throat. The tiger finally let go of his father and ran away. 21 Crying Bamboo Shoots Meng Zong (孟宗), a native of Jiangxia in the Three Kingdoms period, had his father die when he was a teenager, and his mother was very sick in her old age, so the doctor instructed him to use fresh bamboo shoots to make soup. In the winter, there were no fresh bamboo shoots, so Meng Zong was at his wits' end and ran to the bamboo forest alone, holding the bamboo and weeping. A short while later, he suddenly heard the ground cracking sound, only to see the ground grow several stems of young bamboo shoots. Meng Zong was so happy that he took them back to make soup, and his mother really recovered after drinking them. Later on, he became an official in the government. 22 Tasting Dung and Worrying Yu Qianlou, a scholar of the Southern Qi Dynasty, was the magistrate of Weiling County. After ten days in office, he suddenly felt his heart sweating and had a feeling that something was wrong at home, so he resigned from his post and returned to his hometown. When he returned home, he knew that his father had been seriously ill for two days. The doctor said: "to know the condition of good or bad, just taste the patient's feces, taste bitter." Qianlou then tasted his father's feces and found it sweet, he was so worried that he knelt down at night to worship the Big Dipper and begged to die in his father's place. A few days later, his father died, and Qianlou buried his father and kept the system for three years. 23 abandoned the government to find his mother Zhu Shouchang, Song Dynasty, Tianchang people, seven years old, his biological mother Liu was first mother (father's wife) jealous, had to remarry others, fifty years mother and son can not be heard. During the reign of Emperor Shenzong, Zhu Shouchang was a government official, and he once wrote the Diamond Sutra in blood to search for his birth mother in all directions, and when he got the clues, he decided to give up his official position and went to Shaanxi Province to search for his birth mother, and swore that he would never return to the country without seeing his mother. Finally met his mother and two younger brothers in Shanzhou, mother and child reunion, return together, when his mother was already more than seventy years old. 24 Purely pro drowning Huang Tingjian, the Northern Song Dynasty Fenning (now Jiangxi Xiushui), a famous poet and calligrapher. Although he was in a high position, serving his mother but exhausted filial piety and sincerity, every night, are personally washing mother's drowning (toilet), not a day to forget the duties of the son should be done.