A Study On The Writing Of Local Records Of Filial Piety In Ming Dynasty

The Ming Dynasty pursued the concept of "ruling the world with filial piety" since the founding of the Ming Taizu.The Ming Dynasty government enacted laws to severely punish unfilial acts by encouraging local recommendations for insightful people with filial piety but at the same time reduced or exempted penalties for offenders with filial piety,and promulgated the "Book of Filial Piety","Da Gao","Filial Fact" Measures such as propagating the idea of filial piety,establishing a system for officials to raise relatives,returning home to support relatives,and Ding worry,and awarding people with filial piety,and many other measures reflect the effective practice of "ruling the world with filial piety" and also reflect the importance of filial piety.Related to the above measures are a large number of special records on the behavior of people with filial piety.These records may be found in the biography of filial piety in the official history of the Ming Dynasty or existed in the biography of filial piety,the filial piety,Xiaoyi Biography,the biography of Dutiful Son,Xiaoxing Biography,Jiexiao Biography,the biography of loyal filial piety,the biography of filial daughter,the biography of filial woman,etc.Through the study of the written content of the filial piety in various places in different periods of the Ming Dynasty,it is possible to summarize the content of the filial piety record,and on this basis,further analyze the characteristics of filial piety in local society in the Ming Dynasty and the situation of filial piety writing in different regions.Look for the similarities and differences between the local and the central government’s writings of filial piety from the perspective of comparison with the "Ming History·Xiaoyi Biography",the advocacy and credibility of the practice of filial piety in the Ming Dynasty reflected in the biography of local filial piety and many other issues.There were many names in the local chronicles of filial piety in the Ming Dynasty,and its establishment was closely related to the idea of "ruling the world with filial piety" in the Ming Dynasty,the compilation of the records of chronicles,and the need to persuade and punish people.The dedicated biography of filial piety is the research object of this article,other types of biographies containing filial piety are beyond the scope of this article.The content of filial piety in the local chronicles of filial piety in the Ming Dynasty is roughly divided into the aspects of fostering relatives,respecting relatives,loving relatives,seeking relatives,burying relatives,and offering sacrifices to relatives.Among them,fostering relatives is the most prominent,reflecting the importance of daily filial piety.The identities of the characters specifically included in the biography of filial piety are roughly divided into central and local officials,officials,scholars,civilians,servants,sergeants,and unidentified people.Among them,the number of civilians is the largest and the behavior is the most prominent.In addition to the male-centered biography of filial piety,there is also a category of filial piety of daughter and filial piety of women in the local chronicles of the Ming Dynasty.This is the most prominent situation where there are no males in the family and women are required to undertake the duty of filial piety.Compared with male filial sons,filial daughters and filial wives mainly participate in funerals after the death of their relatives,but there is no related record of guarding the tomb.The methods of awards for those with filial piety include: giving plaques,building memorials,erecting monuments,entering temples,granting official positions,reducing or exempting corvee,and rewards in kind.Among them,giving plaques are the most common,this highlights the propaganda to the people of filial piety,and reflects the instructive effect of the preaching of filial piety.Through the analysis of the content of filial piety in the biography of local filial piety in the Ming Dynasty,we can also summarize the blindness of Ming people’s practice of filial piety and the mystery of the description of filial piety.Comparing the behavior and description of filial piety in different areas in the Ming Dynasty,it can be seen that the northern area of the Ming Dynasty paid more attention to the description of the behavior of keeping tombs,and some of the description of the behavior of raising relatives are simple.The southern region pays more attention to raising relatives,the related descriptions are more detailed,and the characterization is more full.Compared with the "Ming History·Xiaoyi Biography",biography of local filial piety in Ming Dynasty emphasized more on the description of devotion and guard the tomb,and paid more attention to the filial behavior of the characters in the selection criteria,instead of only focusing on whether the characters were rewarded by the Ming government.In the biography of local filial piety in the Ming Dynasty,there are also some notable records of filial piety.For example,"cutting flesh to treat one’s relatives" reflects the contradiction between the Ming government’s advocacy of filial piety and local social practice;some common acts of filial piety in the records of filial piety,as well as those that are easy to put into practice,have high credibility.However,some records full of magical content,as well as some behaviors that violate the common sense of medicine,are likely to be deliberately fabricated to a large extent.The local aspirations of filial piety in the Ming Dynasty embodies the basic idea of "ruling the world with filial piety" and an effective means for the Ming government to promote filial piety in local society.The educational function of the biography of filial piety has affected people in a subtle way,admire and learn from filial sons,hoping to gain public approval and imitation,and to a certain extent promoted the spread of filial piety in local society in the Ming Dynasty.