Page:Sacred Books of the East - Volume 3.djvu/483



The Chinese character pronounced o, which we translate by 'Filial Piety,' and which may also perform the part of an adjective, 'filial,' of a verb, 'to be filial,' or of an adverb, 'filially,' is one of the composite  characters whose meaning is suggested by the meanings of their constituent parts combined together. It is made up of two others,—One signifying 'an old man' or 'old age,' and beneath it the character signifying 'a son.' It thus, according to the, the oldest Chinese dictionary ( 100), presents to the eye 'a son bearing up an old man,' that is, a child supporting his parent. also enters as their phonetical element into at least twenty other characters, so that it must be put down as of very early formation. The character  has been explained in the Introduction to the Shû King, p. 2; and the title, Hsiâo King, means 'the Classic of Filial Piety.'

Many Chinese critics contend that this brief treatise was thus designated by Confucius himself, and that it received the distinction of being styled a  before

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