The Way of the Son

AnonymousBashu Publishing House · ChinaJun 2024

4.1

Word count: 1.4K words
Chapters: 2

Summary

Moral norms children should follow toward their parents. Records of the Grand Historian, "Basic Annals of the Five Emperors": "Shun's father Gusou was obstinate, his mother was quarrelsome, and his younger brother Xiang was arrogant; all of them wanted to kill Shun. Yet Shun complied with them without failing in the way of the son, and as a brother he was filial and kind."

Book of Han, "Treatise on the Five Phases" (part 1): "Dong Zhongshu held that because Duke Cheng of Lu (Cheng) during mourning lacked a grieving heart and repeatedly raised troops for war, Heaven brought disaster upon his father's temple, showing that he had failed in the way of the son and could not serve the ancestral temple." Kongcongzi, "Excellent Words": "When King Wen arose, six provinces attached themselves to him. The multitudes of the six provinces each came in accordance with the way of the son. Thus the modest terrace was completed before the appointed day."

Editor's review

Taking the traditional ethical concept of the "way of the son" (zidao) as its core, this book centers on the moral norms children should follow toward their parents. It gathers relevant records from classics such as the Records of the Grand Historian, "Basic Annals of the Five Emperors," the Book of Han, "Treatise on the Five Phases," and the Kongcongzi, "Excellent Words": from Shun's filial conduct toward Gusou, to the warning of Duke Cheng of Lu losing the way of the son and bringing disaster upon his father's temple, to the multitudes of six provinces coming in accordance with the way of the son when King Wen arose, it presents the multiple facets of zidao in classical and historical literature. For readers interested in pre-Qin and Han ethical thought, family ritual order, and mutual attestation across classical texts, this book offers a keyword-guided path of study. It should be read within the context of traditional filial discourse and the history of classical interpretation, attending both to differences in source and context and to the possible transformation of zidao in contemporary discussions of family ethics. The 2024 Bashu Publishing House edition is convenient for desk reference and thematic study.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Scholars and students studying pre-Qin and Han ethical thought and conceptions of filial piety
Traditional culture enthusiasts who need compiled materials on zidao from classical texts
Readers conducting keyword-based study of classics such as the Records of the Grand Historian and the Book of Han
General readers interested in family ritual order and intergenerational ethics

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting a systematic theoretical monograph on filial piety or a modern ethics textbook
Readers seeking only popular stories and unwilling to engage with classical textual sources
Beginners who need complete annotations, vernacular translation, and sentence-by-sentence explanation

Reading tips

First read the quoted passages in the original, then consult the sources for context to avoid taking passages out of context.
Use zidao as a thread for note cards, sorting by source, figure, event, and ethical point.
Read comparatively the narrative of Shun in the Records of the Grand Historian, "Basic Annals of the Five Emperors," and the disaster records in the Book of Han, "Treatise on the Five Phases," to appreciate differences in context.
After reading, write a short commentary on the boundaries of zidao's applicability in contemporary family relations to test your understanding.

About the publisher

Bashu Publishing House China · Founded in 1983

Bashu Publishing House is a publisher centered on collating and publishing classical Chinese cultural texts, with its main publishing areas covering classical literature, Eastern philosophy, ancient poetry, and educational classics. Its library currently holds 1,075 titles, including representative works such as Dream of the Red Chamber, the Preface to the Orchid Pavilion Gathering, Renjian Cihua, and Out to the Frontier, involving authors such as Cao Xueqin, Wang Xizhi, Wang Guowei, Wang Changling, Liu Xie, and Yan Yu. These reflect the publisher's focus on literary classics, poetry criticism, and philosophical readings. Its publishing character lies in working around ancient texts and canonical works, with attention to textual collation and presentation. Public information on its more detailed publishing background and series plans is limited; this introduction is based only on the library's book information.

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FAQ

What does zidao mainly refer to in this book?

According to the book's materials, zidao refers to the moral norms children should follow toward their parents. Through records such as Shun serving Gusou in the Records of the Grand Historian, "Basic Annals of the Five Emperors," Duke Cheng of Lu failing in zidao in the Book of Han, "Treatise on the Five Phases," and the multitudes of six provinces coming in accordance with zidao in the Kongcongzi, "Excellent Words," it presents the usage and contexts of this concept in classical and historical literature.

Is this book a complete theoretical work on filial piety?

No. According to available materials, this book compiles relevant classical records around zidao; it is a keyword-guided reader of source texts, not a monograph systematically expounding filial piety theory. Readers should treat it as study material rather than a ready-made ethics textbook.

Can I read this book without a foundation in classical Chinese?

The book quotes largely from classical texts such as the Records of the Grand Historian, the Book of Han, and the Kongcongzi, which may be difficult for readers lacking experience in classical Chinese. It is advisable first to familiarize yourself with the relevant chapters through reliable annotated translations, then return to this book and read against the sources, or use it alongside an annotated edition.

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About the author

Anonymous Author

Anonymous is not a real personal name but a general Chinese designation for authors whose names are unknown, lost, or unsigned. Neither nationality nor dates of birth and death can be verified, and available public information is limited, so the works attributed to this name are the only basis for description. The collection holds 2,078 works under Anonymous, spanning medicine, classics, historical readings, ancient poetry, classical literature, and philosophy. Representative works include The Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon: Lingshu, Mencius, The Book of Documents, Nineteen Old Poems, Complete Song Ci, and The Peacock Flies Southeast. Most of these works took shape through long transmission and editing, emerging either from collective folk creation or from authors whose names were lost over time. In ancient China, the Book of Songs, the Great Learning, and many popular storybooks and plays were signed Anonymous because their authors could not be traced. Anonymous works cross the classics, histories, philosophical writings, medical texts, and poetry; their subjects are broad, and their styles vary from archaic simplicity to clear naturalness, making them important and influential sources for understanding ancient Chinese thought, medicine, and literature.