“a student asked about the treatment of parents. the master said, behave in such a way that your father and mother have no anxiety about you…filial sons are people who see to it that their parents get enough to eat. but even dogs and horses are cared for to that extent. if there is no feeling of respect, wherein lies the difference? filial piety does not consist merely in young people undertaking the hard work. it is something much more that that.” – confucius

1.how might adult children cause their parents “anxiety”?

why is providing only for parents’ physical needs treating them like farm animals?

what does confucius mean by filial piety?

“mrs. fan…petitioned to have her eldest son, fan gui, released from his criminal sentence to care for her. fan gui accidentally wounded his mother when quarreling with his younger brother. fan gui was tried and provisionally sentenced to immediate death…we again received a petition from mrs. fan stating that her third son had died, and fan yuan, her second son, had been deported. moreover, he is truly an unfilial rascal. hence, she requests that her eldest son, fan gui, be allowed to remain at home. this board…submitted a palace memorial to the emperor proposing approval of the petition…fan gui was able to remain at home.”- the case of fan gui (1821)

why was fan gui sentenced to death?

what is one reason that a criminal could be released according to chinese law?

how did fan yuan’s behavior influence the board’s decision about fan gui?