Explanation of the Twenty-Four Filial Exemplars

Author: Yang [Name Omitted]
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-06-01
Features: Shun was a sage-like ruler in ancient mythology, known as Zhonghua, and belonged to the Youyu tribe, hence also called Yu Shun. It is said that the then ruler Yao ceded his throne to him due to his outstanding virtue. His life story is detailed in Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian·Annals of the Five Emperors. After his mother's death, Shun's father Gu Sou remarried and had another son. His father, stepmother, and half-brother Xiang all disliked Shun and plotted against him in various ways. Yet Shun endured with patience and no complaints. When Yao heard of Shun's filial piety, he sent his nine sons to serve him, married his two daughters, Ehuang and Nuying, to him, and entrusted him with various affairs of state. Shun did not disappoint his trust, governing the world in an orderly manner and earning widespread praise. After Yao's death, Shun inherited his throne and continued to serve his parents devotedly and treat his brother kindly.
Records of the Grand Historian only records that Shun came to Lishan to farm, which greatly improved the local customs. People used to quarrel over the amount of land they farmed, but under his influence, they all became more considerate of one another. Later legends added more mythical elements, describing elephants plowing the land for him and birds weeding for him.
Records of the Grand Historian also records many schemes Gu Sou devised to harm Shun, such as sending him to repair granaries, then removing the ladder after he climbed onto the roof and setting the granary on fire; or sending him to bail water from a well, then sealing the well after he descended. Yet each time, Shun managed to turn danger into safety and overcome the crises.
In Mencius·Wang Zhang I, Mencius records a conversation with his disciple Wang Zhang, in which Mencius mentions that after enduring such injustice, Shun ran to the fields to cry to the heavens. Mencius believed this showed Shun's longing for his parents but also harbored resentment. Mencius emphasized that all ethical relationships are reciprocal, not one-sided, which led to this perspective.
The Chapter on Admonition in the Confucian classic The Classic of Filial Piety also states, "When faced with injustice, a son cannot refuse to argue with his father, nor can a subject refuse to argue with his ruler. Therefore, when faced with injustice, one must argue. To obey a father's command blindly—how can that be filial?" This clearly opposes blind loyalty. However, later ethical concepts became rigid. For example, stories in The Twenty-Four Filial Exemplars often portray family ethics as one-sided behavior by children toward parents, thus deliberately downplaying such narratives.