“There are three kinds of unfilial piety, the greatest of which is not having offspring” comes from "Mencius Li Lou Shang". The original text is: "There are three kinds of unfilial piety. The greatest is not having an heir. Shun married without complaining, which was considered to have no heirs. A gentleman thought he would sue even though he was married."
In "Commentaries on the Thirteen Classics", there is a note below "It is great to have no descendants": "There are three unfilial people in rituals. It means that Ayi is obedient and gets married. The first is unfilial piety; the second is unfilial: not marrying and having no children, and not being able to worship one's ancestors; the third is unfilial. "The most important of the three is to have no descendants." The common explanation is: blindly. Being obedient, not trying to persuade your parents when they are at fault, causing them to fall into injustice, this is the first kind of unfilial piety; the family is poor, the parents are old, but you do not work as an official to earn a salary to support your parents, this is the second kind of unfilial piety ; Not marrying a wife and having children, cutting off future generations, is the third type of unfilial piety.
There are three types of unfilial piety: not being able to support one’s life, not being able to bury one’s body after death, and not being able to offer sacrifices when buried. Among them, those who have no descendants can not be buried and sacrificed.
--Zhang Hongxing
In the primitive patriarchal era, filial piety had three levels: first, "when in life, everything should be done with propriety"; second, "when in death, burial should be done with propriety" ; Thirdly, in the long years after death, descendants and grandchildren "sacrifice him with courtesy". And further concluded that "there are three unfilial piety" should be: not being respectful and obedient in life, the first is unfilial; the death is not being buried, the second is unfilial. ;There are three unfilial piety if you don’t have a descendant!
When listening to books and talking about ancient times, you can often hear the saying “There are three kinds of unfilial piety, and the greatest one is not having an descendant”. This sentence comes from the chapter "Mencius: Li Lou". The original text is: Mencius said: "There are three types of unfilial piety. The greatest is not having an issue. Shun married without complaining, which was considered to have no offspring. A gentleman thought that he would still complain." Mencius did not explain. What exactly are these "three"s?
Although Mencius did not express it explicitly, when Zhao Qi, a Confucian scholar of the Han Dynasty, commented on this article, he gave at least an answer he thought was reasonable. Zhao Qi's note below says: "There are three types of unfilial piety in regard to etiquette. They are those who are unfilial and obedient, and it is unjust to trap relatives. The first is unfilial; the family is poor and the elderly are not well-off. Being an official is the second act of unfilial piety; not marrying and having no children, and not being able to worship ancestors are the third act of unfilial piety."
To explain in vernacular is: blindly obeying, not persuading parents when they see their faults, causing them to fall into injustice. This is the first kind of unfilial piety; the family is poor, the parents are old, but they don’t go there Being an official and earning a salary to support your parents is the second kind of unfilial piety; not marrying and having children and cutting off future generations is the third kind of unfilial piety.
Although Confucius and Mencius are the same, Confucianism in Mencius's era has made some progress compared with Confucius's era. It can be seen from the first article of unfilial piety, "I will bend my will, and I will be unjust": In the Confucius era, the expression of filial piety and loyalty was superficial obedience and obedience. Even if you know that your elders are wrong, you still have to admit it. Can't point it out.
Confucius said in "The Classic of Filial Piety": "If a father quarrels with his son, he will not fall into unrighteousness. Therefore, if there is unrighteousness, then the son cannot help but quarrel with his father." By the time of Mencius, Confucianism had already I began to reflect on this situation. Mencius's Confucianism believed that this was "conforming to one's will and unjustly trapping relatives", that is, unfilial piety.
Regarding the second point, it is also contrary to the thoughts of Confucius’ era. Confucius' thought is that "using the ways of heaven, dividing the benefits of the earth, and using the body with integrity to support your parents is the filial piety of the common people."
From this point of view, "having no heirs" is ranked first The third position is not really "big". We can see the development of the definition of "unfilial piety" through the development of Confucianism and Mencius' Confucianism. Of course, whether it is Mencius' "Li Lou Shang" or Confucius's "The Classic of Filial Piety", the filial piety they promote is one of the lofty ideological and moral qualities that China has always promoted.