Family Ethics. "strange Tales"

The time Pusongling lived is the period that the feudalistic society of China was declinning. As the dynasty of Qing set up by nation of Man was taking the place of the dynasty of Ming set up by nation of Han. During the period of dynastic alternation, the social order was more confusional and deteriorative. So it was facing a deep crisis to the ancient tradition ethics,which besides the family ethics, such as the relationships of the father and son, brother and sister,husband and wife etc. With a view of persuade people to adopt a better way of life,King of Kangxi issued orders to the people again and again。So that,the question of how to construct a set of better family ethics became the the focus of the scholars'attention. Of course, Pusongling'thinking and writing was deeply affected by this attention.Differ from the society ethics constructed by Wangfuzhi,Guyanwu and Yanyuan etc, Pusongling set up an ethics world with a lot of weird literature stories performed by the foxes and ghosts. Be a folk intellectual person, Pusongling was directly acquainted with the morals condition of folk families very much. Therefore,a great deal of stories in the liaozhaizhiyi describes the family livings and morals,and the family ethics become the main object of his concern. The ethics idea of his have the special features of the folks and country in the ancient china.As inherited the Confucian tradition, Pusongling claimed that the literature education can improve people's moral conditions, and his work of liaozhaizhiyi expressed his rural values in virtue of the strength of the literature story. In addition,Pusongling put importance on the family ethics because of his long-term of country-life experience and feeling. In conclusion,he wrote the work of liaozhaizhiyi to reconstruct the family ethics by means of the traditional ethic idea of the respecting the elders and cherishing the affection of the brother's and the sister's. Not only contains the stories wrote by author ,but also The storybook comprises many of folk tales and ethic stories. so we can acquaint with the history of the ethic idea and facts at that time.The family ethics that expressed from Pusongling and Liaozhaizhiyi have a close contact with the traditional ethics thought of China. In view of several kinds of family ethics showed by Pusongling's liaozhaizhiyi---the ethics of husband and wife, the ethics of father and son,the ethics of brothers or sisters,it can be found that both the Chinese traditional ethics and the current of emancipatory thought appeared in the destiny of Ming make a full impact on that the ethics of them.Firstly ,the essential of the ethics of husband and wife is that consort should have genuine love each other. A very happy marriage was one marriage far from judging by such as appearances.the money, family statusand or appearances etc. Aimed at the harmonious family, Pusongling praised those able and virtuous women who had the sacrificial spirit and ability to teach child become a useful person. Whereas He animadverted those Xanthippes who subject their children,husband, father-in-law or mother-in-law to abuse. Mistakenly, the author appreciated the uncultured plural marriage in his work.all of that shown us any evidence for the imperium of sexism in the time Pusongling was living. There is no doubt that the imperium of sexism is the feudalism idea of Chinese traditional cultural,which must be open to criticism with materialistic dialectic and be abandon.Secondly, Pusongling constructed the ethics of father and son from two sides,and the "filial piety" was regard as a fundamental of the ethics of sons.Make a concrete analysis of concrete problems, we find that the "filial piety" includes the following several factors: 1.supporting your father and mother, 2.pleasuring your father and mother, 3.priding your father and mother by means of your success,4.expostulating with your father and mother with righteousness, 5.commemorating your father and mother when they died, 6.receiving a heritage, as of ideas, from your father and mother by begeting and conceiving the son.The good behavior that father and mother should do is based on the principia of "kindly" which includes several factors as follow :1.The children should be treated with justice and kindness by their parent; 2.Example is better than precept; 3.love every child,treating them equally; 4.teach your children and help them make good.As a Confucianism intellectual, Pusongling inheritted the Confucianism ethics of father and son.Actually, the Confucianism ethics permeated between his real life and the ethics stories that he collected or wrote.Thirdly, the Confucianism ethics of Brothers (sisters) is the basic or essential part of the family ethics of liaozhaizhiyi. There are three types stroies about ethics of Brothers (sisters)in the book, i.e. live in harmony or not,or from not become harmony. Pusongling built many ethic images such as Zengyouyu, Zhangcheng, Choudaniang etc.to full express his ideal ethics thought.The family ethics of liaozhaizhiyi wrote by Pusongling already constitutes more integrited ethics system.. But There are both the positive effect and the negative meaning among them. It claims to the family harmony, promote the family member's of equal consciousness, and express ethics by punishing thethe evils and commending the kinds. Beyond all doubt, these will benefit the society's progress. By contraries, those religionary or superstitious thoughts such as the comeuppance,fatalism,plural marriage,virtuousness etc. are negative of the tradition ethics, which must be anima dverted and abandoned.Although the age that Pusongling lived has gone more than 300 years, his family ethics full of Confucianism color that expressed through Liaozhaizhiyi have more important meaning to the construction of socialism morals on the contemporary. Especially those family ethics such as consensual marriage, "filial piety" and harmony between father and sons, brother and sister, industry and frugality etc.------These are inspirable and quotable to the construction of socialism harmony society and the rebuilding of family ethics contemporary.