Four stories from 24 Filial Exemplars, a classic Confucian text by Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) scholar Guo Jujing
Imperial example
Liu Heng was Emperor Wen of the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 24). His mother, Empress Dowager Bo, was once ill for three years. He attended to his mother each day after dealing with affairs of state. For safety reasons, he would test the medicine before he took it to his mother. When his mother finally recovered, he fell ill because of exhaustion. His benevolence and filial piety were praised throughout the kingdom. During his reign, the population flourished and the country prospered.
Dear to him
Tan Zi was a viscount in the State of Tan during the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC). His aged parents suffered from eye diseases and needed to drink deer's milk as part of their treatment. He therefore disguised himself in a deerskin and sneaked into a herd of deer in the mountains to obtain deer's milk. Once, when he was taking deer's milk, a hunter mistook him for a deer and was going to shoot him. He revealed himself and told the truth to the hunter. The hunter respected his filial piety and escorted him out of the mountains.
Nobody does it better
Huang Xiang lived in the Eastern Han Dynasty (AD 25-220). His mother passed away when he was 9. His longing for his late mother and his filial piety for his father were praised by his fellow villagers. He would cool his father's pillow and mat with a fan in the hot summer and warm his father's quilts and cushions with his body in the cold winter. When he grew up, he served as the prefect of Wei county. When the county suffered from a flood, he donated all his possessions to help victims. A saying goes that, "There is no parallel in this world to Huang Xiang".
Melting hearts
Wang Xiang lived in the Western Jin Dynasty (AD 265-316). His mother died when he was young. His stepmother didn't treat him well and often spoke ill of him in front of his father. Because of this, he also lost the love of his father. But when his parents were ill, he took care of them carefully. One cold winter day, his stepmother wanted to eat fresh fish. He took off his clothes and lay on the frozen river to melt the ice with his body. The ice melted and two carp leaped out. He took them home and his stepmother was moved.
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