Before Qingzhou East Fragrant Mountain, there lived a man named Zhou Shunting who was very filial to his mother. His mother had a large boil on her thigh. The pain was so unbearable that she could only moan day and night. Zhou Shunting took the trouble to apply medicine and massage for his mother, so much so that he forgot to eat and sleep. However, several months passed, and her mother's illness still refused to heal. Zhou was helpless and worried. At night, his dead father told him in a dream: "Your mother's illness is all due to your filial piety. However, her sores can only be cured by applying ointments made from human muscles. You can't do it just by worrying." "Zhou was surprised when he woke up. He quickly got up and cut off a piece of flesh from his side with a knife, but he didn't feel much pain. He bandaged the wound again with cloth, and the bleeding stopped. Zhou made ointment from his own flesh and applied it to his mother's sores. The pain was immediately relieved. His mother asked happily: "What kind of medicine is it? It's so effective!" It was inconvenient for Zhou to tell the truth, so he could only prevaricate. When his mother's sores finally healed, Zhou managed to hide his cuts, leaving even his wife and children at a loss. After the cut healed, a scar as big as a palm was left. After repeated questioning by his wife, he learned the real cause.
Yishi Shi said: "Cutting the flesh on the thighs is life-threatening, and gentlemen do not advocate it. However, how can foolish men and women know that it is unfilial to hurt the body given by their parents? They just can't help but do it. Just do what you want to do. Only with such people can you know that there are true filial sons in heaven and earth."