The Book of Filial Duty

This classic Confucian volume presents The Book of Filial Duty with its historical introduction and moral commentary, tracing the text's ancient origins, its preservation by Emperor Ming Huang, and its central role in Chinese education and family ethics. At its heart is the claim that filial piety is the foundation of social order: reverence for parents, ancestors, and the home extends outward into loyalty, public virtue, and harmony in state and society. Confucius frames duty as a universal principle, linking child and parent, ruler and subject, Heaven, Earth, and Man through mutual obligation, ritual, and moral example rather than force. The work also insists that filial obedience is never blind submission. Children must respectfully correct wrong conduct, while parents and rulers bear responsibility for moral teaching and just example. It closes with practical duties of care, illness, mourning, and sacrifice, and then brings these ideals to life through the celebrated Twenty-four Examples of Filial Duty. These vivid tales of Shun, Emperor Wen, Tseng Ts'an, Min Sun, Chung Yu, Lao Lai Tzŭ, Yen, Tung Yung, and Chiang Ko dramatize devotion, sacrifice, and the transforming power of family love. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.