The Twenty-Four Filial Piety Stories Originated From Buddhism

Filial piety enjoys popular support in China, and became a type of folk custom culture. Filial conducts and filial piety performance in all aspects of people’s life, it can be said that filial piety reflects the folk customs, at the same time, the filial piety is the folk custom itself. The Twenty-Four Filial Piety Stories are the product of the pinnacle of Chinese filial piety culture, it has exerts a great effect on on Chinese art and folk custom for hundreds of years. But its source has not been made clear, influenced by Confucian culture for one thousand years, people thought that the Twenty-four filial piety stories are the products of Confucian culture. At present, researches of The Twenty-Four Filial Piety Stories in academic circles mainly are as follows:First, focus on the study of individual story of The Twenty-Four Filial Piety Stories. Second, focus on the time the when to take on the shape of The Twenty-Four Filial Piety Stories. Third, study on its social influence, social education significance and application research under the new social background.In this article I try to verify that The Twenty-Four Filial Piety Stories originated from Buddhism rather than the thought of Confucianism from the differences of the filial piety between Confucianism and Buddhism, when to take on the shape of The Twenty-Four Filial Piety Stories and its transmission etc. Buddhism was strongly condemned by Confucianism because the Buddhist tonsure destroy form, gave up their homes and refused to give birth when it was introduced to China of Confucian ethics society. In order to keep its feet, Buddhism began to change, it tried its best to keep up with the local ethical idea, and it changed from filial piety, the most vulnerable aspect, on the one hand, it absorbed the Confucian filial piety view, on the other hand, it developed his own unique concept of filial piety. Gratitude, known as a basic category of Buddhism, also reflected in the concept of filial piety. The filial piety of Buddhism is more emphasis on gratitude to the parents, especially to the mother. This is a feature of the Buddhist view, also is the characteristic of The Twenty-Four Filial Piety Stories. Throughout previous dynasties versions of The Twenty-Four Filial Piety Stories, we can see that the vast majority of filial son stories are to those mothers, which is quite different from the Confucian tradition which always emphasized on the father’s ambition and approach.The spread process of Buddhism in China equals to its process of sinicization. In order to strive for believers and to obtain development, the great vitality of buddhist used in a variety of popular art forms such as the general public SuJiang bianwen, covert JingBian principles to promote Buddhism, and to broadcast the main aspects of the sinicization of Buddhism--filial piety. There are two main paths to broadcast Buddhism filial piety. First, to adapt and perform the Chinese classics son figures, and then in such a vivid way to mass communication, such as<Biography of Dutiful> from< The Collections of Bianwen in Dunhuang>. Second, to discover the classical figures in buddhist classics and filial conduct story, from the Buddha to Mulian, and then to Shanzi, from SuJiang bianwen to disguised to drama, to discover, to create, make these figures of foreigners are deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. In the process of promoting filial piety, between tang dynasty and five dynasties, the buddhist integrated and edited the materials above into The Twenty-Four Filial Piety Stories for SuJiang. The cultural item of "The Twenty-Four Filial Piety Stories " was first emerged between Tang and five dynasties period, it officially appeared in buddhist literature<The Twenty-Four Filial Piety Stories and seat texts of the late master of Yuanjian>. With the propaganda of Buddhism, The Twenty-Four Filial Piety Stories becaming deeply rooted in the hearts of the people gradually, and widely spreading in Song Liao Yuan periods.