Establishment Of The Virtue And Indoctrination

Confucian ideology of filial piety is the most important cultural characteristicsamong others that distinguish Chinese nation from other nations in the world. Thisfilial ideology, while based on human emotional life and aimed at self-cultivation asits ultimate goal, is the main content of moral teaching in Confucianism. Confucius,the founder of the idea that benevolence should start from practicing filial duty, hadintroduced filial piety into the ideology of benevolence and regarded benevolence asthe highest cause. Based on the transmission spectrum of Confucian orthodoxy,sincere Zencius followed the routine of Confucius in mainly practicingself-cultivation, advocating filial piety, and emphasizing inner nurture and hands-onpractice. He built this ideology to adhere to the natural law with filial piety as its core.For Zencius and his school, the nature of filial piety is to treat family numbers withhuman sympathy, that is, to hold the natural balance within the tension of emotion andreason. The action of an offspring providing for the old is not only moral requirement,but it is also what upholds human lawful society.This essay aims to make a thorough analysis from the origin, development,connotation, characteristics and meaning of Zencius’s ideology of filial piety so as tomake clear of its pursuit of morality and to manifest its meaning of moral teaching.First of all, through self-examination and comity to fulfill filial piety, Zencius hadapplied this thorough way of practicing filial piety to transmit the moral pursuit ofConfucianism into practical ways of moral guidance. By doing this, he hadcrystallized and popularized moral cultivation. Secondly, Zencius’s ideology of filialpiety emphasizes a filial son’s self-cultivation and sees filial piety as a mental processfor introspection. He also combined the practice of filial piety with that of moralnourishment. Finally, Zencius put forward the theory that the nature of civil cultivation is filial piety, believing that the meaning of filial piety is moral teaching.He believed that the perfection of ideal character needs the teaching strength of filialpiety and the highest pursuit of filial teaching is about individual moral cultivation,this objectively promoting the harmony of family and society and sincere folkway.Therefore, the ideology of filial piety is deeply rooted into Chinese moral conceptionsand life attitude of behaving in society.