A Study On Filial Piety In The History Of Song Dynasty: Biography Of Filial Piety And Righteousnes

Filial piety has always been the core content of Chinese traditional social ethics.Rulers attach great importance to filial piety in the height of governing the country an d actively promote filial piety in all aspects of society,which has a profound influence on the development process of ancient Chinese society.The main purpose of compili ng and editing the History of Song Dynasty · Biography of Filial Piety is to "lead the world and follow filial piety rather than obey faith and thought".It inherits the compil ing style of the Biography of Filial piety in the official history of the past dynasties an d records the deeds of filial piety in the two Song Dynasties,which is an important his torical data for us to study the situation of filial piety in the Song Dynasty.According to the content in the History of Song · Biography of Filial Piety,filial piety is mainly reflected in two aspects: filial piety and filial piety,and these filial piet y methods are various,which can be subdivided into the types of sacrificing one’s bod y for one’s relatives,avenging one’s relatives,dwelling in the cottage for mourning,liv ing together after generations,etc.These filial piety communities reflect the unique cu lture and concept of filial piety in the Song Dynasty.At the same time,the group practicing filial piety also presents its own characteri stics.From the perspective of geographical scope,the filial son group was widely distr ibuted,covering all regions in the Song Dynasty.However,most of the filial sons’ nati ve places were in the Central Plains and the South,showing that the number of filial s ons in the north and the south was similar,and the overall number of filial sons in the south was slightly more than that in the north,which was related to the social environ ment and academic development of the Song Dynasty.From the class of the group,m ost of these filial sons belong to the civilian class,which reflects the in-depth develop ment and spread of filial thought.In terms of the extension of filial piety,some filial s ons not only have filial piety,but also have the characteristics of righteousness,which is mainly manifested in the benefit of the village society and the expansion and extens ion of filial piety to the whole social group.It is because the filial piety of the filial community conforms to the code of cond uct advocated by the ruler that the Song Dynasty rulers commended individuals in the filial community.There are mainly two kinds of commendation in Song Dynasty: spiri tual commendation and material commendation.Spiritual commendation focuses on s howing the door,its Lv or its Lv at the same time.In addition,condolence and praise are also carried out.Material commendation was manifested by exempting corvee lab or,taxes,or other items,as well as awarding rice,silk,millet,and granting filial sons official positions.the History of Song · Biography of Filial Piety also reflects some thoughts in the society at that time.Firstly,these filial acts have the ideological connotation of the rul e of etiquette,which is specifically manifested in the aspects of law and family govern ance.Legally,some filial sons should be sentenced to death for revenge of their relati ves according to the law,but the rulers exempt them from the death penalty in order to maintain the status of filial piety and ruling order.In terms of family,the family organ ization mainly takes the form of extended cohabiting family,and adopts the correspon ding family rules and family laws to govern and maintain the development of the fami ly,rather than completely relying on blood ties or legal provisions.Secondly,filial pie ty reflects neo-Confucianism.Influenced by Neo-Confucianism in Song Dynasty,the practice and development of filial piety gradually became extreme.Finally,there are Buddhist thoughts and behaviors in filial piety,which mainly refers to the behavior of offering sutras to the Buddha,adopting vegetative practices,and destroying one’s bod y to serve the Buddha.When the filial son is praised by the ruler,their filial piety is widely spread and h eard by later generations.Therefore,the filial actions of these filial sons will have an i mpact on society.This kind of influence has both positive and negative aspects.The p ositive aspects are as follows: the influence of filial piety on the society at that time,s uch as the influence on individuals,prompting more people to perform filial piety;Th e influence on the whole social group makes the whole society advocate filial piety.A t the same time,filial piety also had an impact on the subsequent dynasties.After the Song Dynasty,many similar filial deeds appeared,which played a role in maintaining social stability and consolidating the rule.The negative aspect is mainly reflected as f ollows: after the Song Dynasty,although more people practiced these filial ways,they tended to become materialistic,profitable and extreme.The History of Song Dynasty · Biography of Filial Piety helps us to deepen our u nderstanding of filial piety culture and filial piety thought in Song Dynasty society,an d further deepen our understanding of filial piety culture in Chinese traditional society through our understanding of filial piety in Song Dynasty society.