1. Erya (Shisanjing zhu shu ed.), 4.2591.

2. Yucai, Duan 段玉裁, Shuowen jiezi zhu 說文解字注 (rpt., Shanghai: Shanghai guji, 1981)Google Scholar, 8.398. Kang Xuewei 康學偉 claims that the character is composed of three components: a child, an elder, and a hand, with which the elder soothes the child. See his Xian Qin xiaodao yanjiu 先秦孝道硏究 (Taibei: Wenjin, 1992), 9Google Scholar.

3. Xianqian, Wang 王先謙, Shiming shuzheng bu 釋明疏證補(rpt., Shanghai: Shanghai guji, 1984), 4.2aGoogle Scholar. The Xiaojing shuo appears to be another name for the apocryphon called Xiaojing yuanshenqi 孝經援神契. All of the early definitions of xiao are conveniently set out in Xuewei, Kang, Xian Qin xiaodao, 8–9Google Scholar.

4. Hsiao, Harry Hsin-i, “Concepts of Hsiao (Filial Piety) in the Classic of Poetry and the Classic of Documents,” Journal of the Institute of Chinese Studies of the Chinese University of Hong Kong 10.2 (1979), 167–187Google Scholar; Hsiao, Harry Hsin-i, “A Preliminary Interprétation of the Origin of the Concept of Hsiao in the Shang Period,” Chinese Culture 19.3 (09, 1978), 5–19Google Scholar; Jacobs, Fang-chih Huang, “The Origin and Development of the Concept of Filial Piety in Ancient China,” Chinese Culture 14.3 (09 1973), 25–32Google Scholar; Bokan, Zhou 周伯欺,”Xiao zhi guyi kao 孝之古義考,” in Zhongguo shi xinlun 中國史新論 (Taibei: Taiwan xuesheng shuju, 1985), 64–76Google Scholar; Kang Xuewei, Xian Qin xiaodao; and Fuguan, Xu 徐復觀, “Zhongguo xiaodao sixiang de xingcheng yanbian ji qi zai li-shi de zhu wenti中國孝道思想的形成演變及其在歴史的諸問題,” in his Zhongguo sixiang shi lunji 中國思想史論集(Taizhong: Sili Donghai daxue, 1959) 158–159Google Scholar.

5. Oxford English Dictionary (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1978, vol. 4, 212Google Scholar, and vol. 7, 843.

6. Mote, Frederick W., Intellectual Foundations of China (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1989)Google Scholar.

7. According to Bokan, Zhou, “Xiao zhi guyi,” 66Google Scholar, Jacobs, , “Filial Piety in Ancient China,” 28Google Scholar, and Fuguan, Xu, “Zhongguo xiaodao,” 158Google Scholar, the character xiao does not appear in the oracle bones. Hsiao, Both, “Hsiao in the Shang Period,” 9–11Google Scholar, and Li Yumin 李裕民 believe that it does appear in the oracle bones, but only as part of a place name or personal name. For Li Yumin's opinion, see his ”Yinzhou jinwen zhong de ‘xiao’ he Kong Qiu ‘xiaodao’ de fandong benzhi殷周金文中的“孝”和孔丘“孝道”的反動本質,” Kaogu xuebao 考古學報, 1974.2, 19Google Scholar. Kang Xuewei disagrees with all of these scholars and maintains that xiao in the sense of filial piety does appear in the oracle bones. See his Xian Qin xiaodao, 9.

8. See Jacobs, , “Filial Piety in Ancient China,” 28–30Google Scholar; and Hsiao, , “Hsiao in the Shang Period,” 15–16Google Scholar.

9. For examples, see Yumin, Li, “Yin Zhou Jinwen zhong de xiao,” 21–22Google Scholar; Shaughnessy, Edward L., Sources of Western Zhou History: Inscribed Bronze Vessels (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1991), 173 and 180Google Scholar.

10. Shaughnessy translates xiao in passages such as these as to “offer filiality”; Sources of Western Zhou History, 180.

11. For a stratigraphy of the Shijing, see Dobson, W.A.C.H., “Linguistic Evidence and the Dating of the Book of Songs” Toung Pao 5X.4-4 (1964), 323Google Scholar; and Schuessler, Axel, A Dictionary of Early Zhou Chinese (Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1987), xxxiGoogle Scholar.

12. The only exceptions to the use of xiao as a verb in the “Zhousong” are two cases where it modifies either the character zi 子 “son” or sun 孫 “descendant.” But in these cases, xiaozi 孝子 and xiaosun 孝孫 might simply mean “a son that xiaos or a descendant that xiaos.” Mao #282 reads: “We present a large male animal and receive assistance in making the sacrifice. Descend august father. Comfort me your son who xiaos.” Mao #300 reads, “[There is] roasted meat, minced meat, and meat soup; baskets, platters, and a great stand [are set up]; the wan dancers are plentiful. The descendants that xiao will receive blessings,”

13. Shuowen jiezi zhu, 5.229.

14. See Li Yumin, “Yinzhou jinwen zhong de ‘xiao,’” 20, 22; and Shenxing, Wang, “Shilun Xizhou xiaodaoguan de xingcheng ji qi tedian 試論西周孝道觀的形成及卖特點,” Shehui kexue zhanxian 社會科學戰綿 1989.1, 116–21, 118Google Scholar. According to the Zhongwen da cidian 中文大辭典 (Qiyun, Zhang 張其昀, ed., 10 vols. [Taibei: Zhong-guo wenhua daxue, 1985])Google Scholar, qing was interchangable with xiang 鄉 (No. 2933, 2144), which was the abbreviated form of xiang (nos. 40456, 14667).

15. See Duan Yucai's comments in his Shuowen jiezi zhu, 5.229.

16. Wanli, Qu, Shijing shiyi 詩經釋義 (Taibei: Zhongguo wenhua daxue, 1983), 407Google Scholar.

17. Bernhard Karlgren's translation of Mao #281 reads, “With them [these types of fish] we make offerings and sacrifice (yixiang yisi), and so we increase our great felicity”; see his Book of Odes (Stockholm: The Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, 1974), 246. In a strikingly similar fashion, Mao #283 reads, “[The Zhou king] leads [the dukes] to view his bright father. They yixiao yixiang, so they can increase their longev-ity.” Si 祀 means “to sacrifice without end”; see Shuowen jiezi zhu, 1.6b-7a.

18. Zhou Bokan has reached the same conclusion; see his “Xiao zhi guyi,” 66.

19. These graphs are found on the “Fanjun fu” 番君H and the “Zengbo Li fu” 曾伯秉廣 vessels; see Zhenyu, Luo 羅振玉, Sandai ji jinwen cun shiwen 三代金文存釋文 (1937; rpt., Hong Kong: Wenxue she, 1983), 10.6b and 10.9aGoogle Scholar. Cited in Yumin, Li, “Yin Zhou jinwen zhong de “xiao,” 22Google Scholar, , nos. 52 & 57.

20. Karlgren, , Book of Odes, 246–247Google Scholar. Arthur Waley translates this passage as: “Then be vouchsafed long life”; see his Book of Songs (New York: Grove Press, 1960), 232Google ScholarPubMed. Legge renders it in the following manner: “He led them to appear before his father shrined on the left, where he discharged his filial duty, and presented his offerings”; see his The Chinese Classics vol. 4: The She King (1871; rpt, Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 1960), 591–592Google Scholar.

21. See Yu, Liu 劉雨, “Xi Zhou jinwen zhong de ji zu li,” 西周金文中的祭祖禮, Kaogu xuebao 1989.4, 519Google Scholar.

22. For a list of inscriptions in which the word xiao appears, see Yumin, Liu, “Yin Zhou jinwen zhong de xiao,” 21–22Google Scholar.

23. See Yumin, Li, “Yin Zhou jinwenzhong de xiao,” 22–23Google Scholar; and Shenxing, Wang, “Xi Zhou xiaodao,” 119–121Google Scholar. For a translation of an inscription in which xiao is given to friends and marriage relations' see Shaughnessy, , Sources of Western Zhou History, 173Google Scholar.

24. Shenxing, Wang, “Xi Zhou xiaodao,” 118–119Google Scholar.

25. That Western Zhou people could give xiao to their dead friends and in-laws also raises doubts about how ancient the concept was that the dead could only receive sacrifices from those who shared the same surname.

26. Falkenhausen, Lothar von, “Issues in Western Zhou Studies: A Review Article,” Early China 18 (1993), 146–152CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

27. Shujing (Shisanjing zhu shu ed.), 14.206. For a slightly different translation, see Legge, James, The Chinese Classics, Vol. 3: The Shoo King (1865; rpt., Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 1960), 404Google Scholar. The “Jiu gao” chapter of the Shujing is one of the oldest chapters of this work and probably was composed early in the Western Zhou dynasty. For a discussion of the chapter's authenticity, see Edward Shaughnessy's entry on the Shangshu in Michael Loewe, edv Early Chinese Texts: A Bibliographical Guide (Berkeley: The Society for the Study of Early China, 1993), 376–389Google Scholar.

28. For example, Legge translates xiaoyang as to “filially minister”; see The Shoo King, 404.

29. Wang Shenxing argues that elders (zhang 長)in this passage also includes political superiors, hence xiao in this context means a form of political service (see his “Xizhou xiaodao,” 119). However, both the spurious Kong Anguo 孑安國 commentary and Kong Yingda 孔親達 believe that zhang means xiong 兄 (older brother); see Shujing, 14.17a-18b. No matter what zhang means, the emphasis in the passage on cultivating grains and engaging in trade makes it apparent that it concerns material support, not political service. This passage also demonstrates that from early on the concept of yang was closely associated with that of xiao.

30. It is possible that the fathers, elders, and parents served in this passage are already dead. But, the use of the word yang would seem to preclude this possibility because it was normally associated with providing for the living. See Li, Wang 王力, Gudai Hanyu 古代漢語 (rpt., Taibei; Youlian chubanshe, n.d.), vol. 3, 784–785Google Scholar.

31. Shujing (Shisanjing zhu shu ed.), 14.9a. The “Kanggao” is thought to be one of the earliest and authentic chapters of the Shujing. For a discussion of its authenticity, see Loewe, , Early Chinese Texts, 378–379Google Scholar.

32. For example, the maker of the “Shi Qiang pan” 史墙盤 vessel identified himself in the following manner: “Xiao and you is Scribe Qiang”; see Shaughnessy, , Sources of Western Zhou History, 191Google Scholar. Another example is found in Mao #177 in which the poet identifies himself as “Zhang Zhong張仲who is xiao and you.”

33. Here I follow the reading of Wanli, Qu, Shijing shiyi, 336Google Scholar. This is also the way both Zheng Xuan鄭玄and Kong Yingda interpret the passage; see Shijing (Shisanjing zhu shu ed.), 16/5.83.

34. For a discussion of model emulation in the Western Zhou, see Savage, William E., “Archetypes, Model Emulation, and the Confucian Gentleman,” Early China 17 (1992), 7–18CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

35. See Liji zhengzhu 禮記鄭注(Sibu beiyao ed) 16.6b.

36. For example, the Shujing's “Wenhou zhi ming” 文侯之命 chapter, which probably dates to the end of the Western Zhou or the beginning of the Spring and Autumn period, in which Zhou Pingwang 周平王 gives the Earl Wen 文侯 the following charge: “You are able to glorify your illustrious ancestors. You emulate King Wen and King Wu. You use the opportunity to continue your lord; you follow and perpetuate the memory of (xiao) your ancestors.”

37. Lunyu 2/5 and Mengzi 3A/2. A broad consensus of scholars holds that the Lunyu is composed of different strata of text. Scholars generally believe that Books 3 through 7 represent the work's oldest stratum. Books 16 through 20 are almost unanimously thought to be the latest stratum. For discussions on the Lunyu's strata, see Eno, Robert, The Confucian Creation of Heaven: Philosophy and the Defense of Ritual Mastery (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1990), 80–81, 239–42Google Scholar; Lau, D.C., The Analects (New York: Dorset Press, 1986), 220–233Google Scholar; and Bojun, Yang 楊伯峻, Lunyu yizhu 論語譯注 (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1980), 26–30Google Scholar. Most recently, E. Bruce Brooks has suggested a new stratification of the text. According to hitn, books 4 through 10 are the work's oldest and existed prior to 370 B.C. Books 1-3 and 11-20, then, were written in the late fourth and the third centuries B.C; see “The Shr As Seen From the Analects,” Warring States Work Group, Note 30 (27 August 1993). The Lunyu's statements about xiao are largely found in chapters thought to be of late provenance, such as books I and II. In fact, if we follow Brooks' reconstruction of the Lunyu, in the oldest stratum of the text, the character xiao only appears in two passages (See 4/20 and 8/21), whereas in the same chapters the character ren 仁appears in 22 passages; see Lunyu yinde 論語引得, Harvard-Yenching Institute Sinologicai Index Series, Supplement No. 16 (rpt., Taibei: Chinese Materials Center, 1972), 183–184Google Scholar. It is significant that in the oldest stratum xiao is associated with the cult of the dead. 4/20 reads: “If for three years you do not alter your father's ways (dao 道), you can be called xiao.” 8/21 reads: “The master said: ׳ Yu 禹, I have no complaints with him. He ate and drank the coarsest things in order to express xiao to the spirits (guishen 鬼神).’”

38. Mengzi 4B/30 further confirms this. In explaining that his friend's reputation for not being xiao was undeserved, Mengzi lists five forms of behavior that go against xiao. Of these five forms of behavior, three concern neglecting the support of one's parents. For other passages that depict feeding one's parents as the popular conception of xiao, see Lunyu 2/8, Mengzi, 7A/37, Xunzi yinde 苟子弓1得, Harvard-Yenching Institute Sinologicai Series, Supplement No. 22 (rpt, Taibei: Chinese Materials Center, 1966)Google Scholar, 23.87 and 29.104.

39. Liji, 51.17a.

40. This hierarchical element of jing is nowhere more evident than in the Mengzi passage 6A.5 where the question arises whom does one respect (jing), one's uncle or a younger brother who impersonates an ancestor during a sacrifice. Mengzi answers that normally one gives respect to his uncle, but in this case one temporarily gives it to his younger brother. This indicates that normally one would not jing his younger brother because it was reserved for honoring superiors. For other passages in the Mengzi that indicate that; jing is directed towards superiors, see 5B.3, 6B7, 7A.15.

41. For instance, in Lunyu 2/20, Ji Kangzi 季康子 asks Kongzi how to make his people respectful and loyal (jingzhong 敬). According to Lunyu 13/4, after Fan Chi asked Kongzi about agriculture, Kongzi called him a petty man and said, “If those above are fond of the rites (li), then none of the people will dare to be disrespectful (bujing 不).”

42. Zuo zhuan (Xiang 23) (Shisanjing zhu su ed.), 35.16a.

43. For example, see Shiming, 8.22a.

44. See, for example, Shi, Hu 胡適, “Shuo ru” 說儒, in Hu Shi wencun 胡適文存 (Taibei: Yuandong tushu gongsi, 1953), vol. 4, 18–21Google Scholar. See, too, Kangwei, Xue, Xian Qin xiaodao, 62Google Scholar.

45. Zuo zhuan (Zhao 11), 45.358; Legge, , The Tso Omen, 634Google Scholar. The translation is Legge's, but has been slightly modified.

46. Zuo zhuan (Xiang 17), 33.8a-10a; Legge, , Tso Chuen, 475Google Scholar.

47. Tobert Eno contends that the ru content of the Zuo zhuan probably reflects the interests of its compilers rather than the ideas of its historical actors; The Confucian Creation of Heaven, 289-290 n. 4.

48. The great Han commentator Zheng Xuan interpreted liangyin to mean “mourning shed,” Based on this understanding, the passage reads, “While he was in the mourning shed, for three years he did not speak; see Legge, , The Shoo King, 466–467Google Scholar.” The Guwen shangshu's 古文尙書 “Shuoming” 說命 chapter explains in greater detail the circumstances that surroundeded Gaozong's silence. Here the compound liangyin unequivocally means to mourn or to remain in the mourning hut; Shujing, 10.1b. However, this chapter is a third century A.D. forgery; see Watson, Burton, Early Chinese literature [New York: Columbia University Press, 1962] 21–22Google Scholar; Wanli, Qu 屈萬里, Shangshu shiyi 尙書釋義 (Taibei: Zhongguo Wenhua daxue chubanshe, 1984), 13–16Google Scholar. The Later Han commentator Ma Rong 馬融 (79-166), on the other hand, interpreted liangyin as meaning “to be trusting and taciturn,” Similarly, some modern historians have begun to doubt Zheng Xuan's reading and believe that Gaozong7s reticence had nothing to do with mourning. According to Zhang Li 張力, the term liangyin means “to truly not be able to speak,” and therefore signifies that Gaozong suffered from a disease that prevented him from talking; ”Yinren wu xiao shuo 殷人無孝說,” Yindu xuekan 殷都學刊 4 (1989), 10–11)Google Scholar. Li Min 李民 believes that it was a method of ruling through which Gaozong gauged the circumstances of his people and deliberated on the best methods by which to rule them (see his ”Gaozong ‘Liangyin’ yu Wuding zhi 高宗׳諒陰與武丁制” Lishiyanjiu 歷史硏究 2 [1987], 141)Google Scholar. To support his claim, he points out that the Guoyu interpreted this passage in a similar manner (Guoyu yinde 國 語引得 [Taibei: Chinese Materials and Research Aids Service Center, 1973] v. 2, 132)Google Scholar. Qu Wanli indicates that the author of the Lushi chunqiu 呂氏春秋 also thought that this passage merely meant that a good ruler selects his words carefully, an opinion with which he concurs (Shangshu shiyi, 154, n. 10). Curiously enough, even the spurious “Shuoming shang” chapter, which altered the text of the passage about Gaozong's three years of silence to make sure that liangyin meant to mourn, still contains a passage extremely similar in wording to that of the Lüshi chunqiu which suggests that his reason for not speaking for three years was because he was thinking about the Way. Moreover, the main gist of the “Wuyi” 無逸 chapter, that referred to in the Lunyu quotation above, is that good rulers are those who have acquired an understanding of the toilsome labor and hardships of commoners by living amongst them; hence humility, modesty, and diligence mark their behavior as rulers. In this context, praise for carrying out the mourning rites seems out of place, whereas praise for refusing to speak rashly conforms to the chapter's theme of acting on the basis of acquired knowledge.

49. For example, in the Lunyu the characters used for this compound are 諒陰; in Liji “Sangfu sizhi” 喪月艮四制, the characters are 諒闇, and in the Shangshu dazhuan 尙書大傳, they are 梁聞; for these variora, see Wanli, Qu, Shangshu shiyi, 154 n. 10Google Scholar.

50. It is not clear that the compiler of Lunyu 14/40 thought that liangyin meant “to reside in a mourning hut,” as Zheng Xuan contends.

51. Lunyu 14/40 suggests that the heir to the throne did not control the reins of government for the first three years after his father's death. Gaozong's silence in this context probably meant that he did not speak about political matters, instead of refusing to talk on the basis of ritual protocol. The earliest parts of the Lunyu are silent on what other ritual practices a crown prince should perform during the three years after his father's death.

52. Mengzi, 3A/2.

53. See Zuo zhuan (Zhao 2), 12.1b, and Xuewei, Kang, Xian Qin xiaodao, 132–33Google Scholar. Kang believes that this Mengzi passage indicates that even in countries known for their adherence to the ancient rites, such as Teng and Lu, the Zhou rites were in abeyance (151-152). Hence, he assumes that the three-year mourning rites already existed in the Western Zhou. This conclusion is based on his questionable presumption that the rites described in the Liji and the Yili 儀禮 represent actual Western Zhou practice (97-107). In his “Sannian sangfu de zhujian tuixing” 三年喪服的逐漸推行 (originally published in the Wuhan daxue wenzhe jikan 武漢夭學文哲季刊 1.2), Hu Shi used this same passage to show that the three-year mourning rites were a ru invention (Hu Shi wencun, vol. 4, 97)Google Scholar. But, in his later article, Hu Shi tried to reconcile this passage with Lunyu 17/19 which states that the three-year mourning rites are practiced throughout all-under-Heaven. He does so by stating that the dukes of Lu and Teng did not perform these rites because they were Zhou people who did not have this custom. The people who Kongzi was referring to, then, were the conquered people of Lu and Teng who continued to practice their Shang customs (”Shuo Ru,” Hu Shi wencun, v. 4, 1920Google Scholar). Although Hu Shi's argument is ingenious, it is also implausible. First, in his previous article, Hu Shi pointed out that since high officials of the Han found it difficult to carry out these arduous rites, commoners who had to earn their living must have found them even more impossible to perform (“Sannian sangfu,” Hu Shi wencun, vol. 4, 103). Second, Fu Sinian's proof that the people of the Shang practiced three year's mourning, upon which Hu Shi relied, comes solely from Eastern Zhou stories about Shang kings, such as Gaozong, who practiced these rites (See “Zhou dongfeng yu Yin yimin,” which is reprinted in Hu Shi wencun, vol. 4, 82–90)Google Scholar. Finally, that the people of Lu and Teng were observing the exact rites that were practiced seven hundred years earlier seems improbable.

54. For a extremely different interpretation of this passage and its implications, see Ximei, Yang 楊希枚, “Mengzi Tengwengong pian sannian sang gushi de fenxi” 孟子滕文公篇三年喪故事的分析, Shihuoyuekan 食貨月刊 1.3 (06, 1977), 135–52Google Scholar.

55. Lunyu 17/19.

56. Hung, Wu, “From Temple to Tomb: Ancient Chinese Art and Religion in Transition,” Early China 13 (1988), 78–104CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

57. Regarding this shift, see Mark Lewis, Edward, Sanctioned Violence in Early China (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1990), 64–65Google Scholar; Yangjie, Xu 徐揚杰, Zhong-guojiazu zhidu shi 中國象族制度史 (Beijing: Renmin chubanshe, 1992)Google Scholar, chapters 3 & 4; Jinguang, Zhang 張金光, “Shang Yang bianfa hou Qin de jiating zhidu” 商缺變法後的家庭制度, Lishi yanjiu 1988.6, 74–90Google Scholar; Shigeaki, Ochi 越智重明, “Ie to kajin” 家家Κ Kyūshū daigaku tōyōshi ronshū 九州東洋史論集 4, 58–87Google Scholar; Yasuhiko, Satake 佐竹靖彥, “Chūgoku kodai no kazoku to kazokuteki shakai chitsujo” 中國古代 (家族家族的社會秩, Jinbun gakuhō 人文學報 141 (03 1980), 7–22Google Scholar, and ”Shinkoku no ka-zoku to Shō Ō no bunrei” 秦國家族七商鞅分異令, Shirin 史林 63.1 (1980), 1–29Google Scholar.

58. Yili (Shisanjing zhu shu ed.), 30.3a-4a. According to William G. Boltz, the Yili predates the Han; see Loewe, , Early Chinese Texts, 237Google Scholar.

59. According to the Yili, the only people for whom one performed three years mourning in the first degree (zhancui 斬衰) were one's father, an adopted father, the eldest son of one's principal wife, a wife for her husband, a concubine for her master, and an unmarried daughter living at her father's home. One performed the three years mourning in the second degree (zicui 齊衰) for one's mother after the death of one's father, a stepmother, a foster mother, and a mother for her eldest son. See Yili, 29.1a-18a.

60. Yirang, Sun 孫詒讓, Mozi xiangu 墨子閒詁 (jicheng, Zhuzi ed.), vol. 4, 9.178Google Scholar; the translation is from Watson, Burton, Mo Tzu: Basic Writings (New York: Columbia University Press, 1963), 124–125Google Scholar.

61. According to Yili, a husband should only mourn his wife for a year. Perhaps Mozi's confusion arises from the fact that, in consideration of his son's feelings, a husband should not remarry until three years after his wife's death. Even so, in terms of length of time, this means that one should mourn his wife just as long as he would his brother or paternal uncles. For these regulations, see Yili, 6b—7a.

62. Another passage from the same chapter makes this point in a slightly different fashion: “The Confucians say: One takes a wife in order that she may aid in the sacrifices to the ancestors, and the son who is born of the union will in time become responsible for maintaining the ancestral temple. Therefore the wife and son are highly regarded.’ But we reply that this is false and misleading. A man's uncles and older brothers may maintain the temple of the ancestors for many years, and yet when they die the Confucian will mourn for them only one year. The wives of his brothers may aid in the sacrifices of the ancestors, and yet when they die he will not mourn for them at all. It is obvious, therefore, that the Confucians do not mourn three years for wives and eldest sons because wives and eldest sons maintain or aid in the sacrifices. Such concern for one's wife and son is troublesome involvement, and in addition the Confucians try to pretend that it is for the sake of their parents. In order to favor those whom they feel the most partiality for, they slight those whom they should respect the most. Is this not the height of perversity?”; Watson, , Mo Tzu, 126Google Scholar.

63. One striking aspect of xiao in early Warring States ru thought is its secondary status. I have already noted how infrequently the word xiao appears in the oldest stra-turn of the Lunyu as compared to the word ren. See note #53. Even passages that speak more generally of how a son should serve his parents are sparse (4/18, 4/19, 4/21, 9/16). As Harry Hsin-i Hsiao has noted, in the Lunyu and the Mengzi, even Zengzi, the disciple of Kongzi most associated with the promotion of xiao, has more to say about ren and yi than he does xiao; see ”Problems Concerning Tseng Tzu's Role in the Promotion of Filial Pietism,” Chinese Culture 19.1 (1978), 9–16Google Scholar, as well as Zhian, Dong 董治安, “Lun Zengzi” 論曾子, Wenshizhe 文史哲 214.1 (1993), 32–33Google Scholar.

64 . Zengzi is usually thought to be the originator of this idea. For example, see Ming, Gao 高明, Da Dai Liji jinzhu jinyi 大戴禮記今註今釋 (Taibei: Taiwan Shangwu, 1989) 52.183-184Google Scholar. Nevertheless, both Hsiao and Dong Zhian indicate that the sayings credited to Zengzi in the Da Dai Liji, Liji, and the Lüshi chunqiu only appeared long after his death, and therefore reflect the views of his later followers, rather than his own; see Hsiao, , “Tseng Tzu's Role in the Promotion of Filial Pietism,” 11–14Google Scholar, and Zhian, Dong, “Lun Zengzi,” 33–34Google Scholar.

65. Xiaojing (Shisanjing zhu shu ed.), 1.2b.

66. Da Dai Liji (“Zengzi daxiao” 曾子大孝), 52.181; Lüshi chunqiu (Zhuzi jicheng ed.), 14.137-138; Liji (Shisanjing zhu shu ed.), 48.5a.

67. Liji, 48.6a.

68. The Lüshi chunqiu states, “Xiao is the original task of the three emperors and five kings; it is the principle of the ten-thousand things. When one grasps this technique, then a multitude of good things will arrive and a multitude of evils will depart. That which the world follows is only xiao”; 14.137.

69. For other passages that appear to describe xiao in a metaphysical manner, see Da Dai Liji, “Zengzi Daxiao,” 52.184-185; Xiaojing, 3.3a-3b and 8.1a-2a.

70. Liji, 49.2a-3a.

71. Liji, 48.4b-5b.

72. Yanyuan, Lai 賴炎元, Han Shi waizhuan jin zhu 韓詩外傳今註今釋 (Taibei: Taiwan Shangwu yinshuguan, 1972), 279Google Scholar.

73. Liang Duan 梁調, Lienü zhuan jiaozhu 列女傳校注 (Sibu beiyao ed.), 1.1a-2a.

74. Bruce Brooks dates this chapter to the year 301 B.C. See his “Shr As Seen From The Analects,” 2.

75. Lunyu, 1/2.

76. Lunyu, 13/18. For a discussion of how this story changed as it was retold in subsequent philosophical texts, see Shigehiko, Uno 宇野茂彥, “Chokukyū setsuwa no seiritsu — tenkai to sono haikei” , Tōhōgaku 東方學 60 (1980), 1–15Google Scholar.

77. Tao Ying 桃應 asked Mengzi what would Shun do if, while he was Son of Heaven, his father GuSou was arrested for murder. Mengzi replied “Shun would view discarding the empire as if he were discarding worn-out shoes. He would have secretly taken his father and fled. He would have gone along the seashore and resided there. For the rest of his life he would have joyously lived this way and would have merrily forget about the empire”; Mengzi, 7A/35, cited in Uno, “Chokukyu setsuwa no seiritsu,” 8.

78. Xiaojing, 2.5b-6b.

79. The combination zhong chen xiaozi 忠臣孝子 occurs in this chapter three times; see Xunzi yinde 603.

80. Xunzi yinde, 19.75; for another translation, see Knoblock, John, Xunzi: A Translation and Study of the Complete Works (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1994), vol. 3, 70–71Google Scholar.

81. Liji, 19.4a-4b.

82. Nevertheless, this was only true if one became a servitor. If a son stayed out of office, his mourning obligations to his father took precedence over his ruler. The Liji states, “In managing [mourning] within the household, affection overshadows [public] duty; in managing [mourning] outside of the household, [public] duty cuts off affection. The conduct with which you serve your father is used to serve your lord, and the respect you give to both is the same. To esteem the worthy and honor the honorable is the greatest kind of duty. Therefore, for his lord, one also performs the three years of mourning with the unhemmed sackcloth, and uses duty to regulate [his mourning obligations]”; Liji, 63.12b.