The ancients often said that "filial piety comes first", and "filial piety" has been integrated into the blood of the Chinese after thousands of years of inheritance. Filial piety has endured for thousands of years, thus forming a unique culture that has been passed down to the present day, and the culture of filial piety began to improve in the Song Dynasty.
As the starting point and moral code of people's behavior, filial piety culture is also conducive to social stability, both in the family and society. As the starting point of the decline of feudal society in the Song Dynasty, the culture of filial piety was extremely needed to consolidate the rule of its own power, so the status of filial piety culture was also improved.
1. The development background of filial piety culture in the Song Dynasty
1. The historical background of the founding of the Song Dynasty
The establishment of the Song Dynasty can be described as "there are wolves in front and tigers in the back", and after the fall of the Tang Dynasty, the princes and princes were in power, and this period is known as the period of five dynasties and ten kingdoms. More than a dozen large and small armed separatist countries have been fighting for land for half a century, displacing their people.
Zhao Kuangyin was originally the commander of the forbidden army of the Later Zhou Dynasty, but was proclaimed emperor on the way to Chen Qiao, who fought against the combined forces of the Northern Han and Khitan, thus establishing the Song Dynasty regime. After the "yellow robe", Zhao Kuangyin did not live a stable dream of being an emperor, but discussed with the minister Zhao Pu overnight how to unify the country.
Under the strategy of "first the south and then the north", the Song Dynasty successively destroyed the Nanping Kingdom, the Wuping Army, and the Later Shu, Southern Han, and Southern Tang Kingdoms, providing a stable development time for the Song Dynasty in the early days of its founding.
2. The social impact of the ruler's policies
In the early days of Zhao Kuangyin's establishment of power, he had just experienced the cruelty of war, and he was proclaimed emperor by his subordinates in the Chenqiao Mutiny.
Therefore, in order to prevent the recurrence of history and restore the stability of society, Zhao Kuangyin, Taizu of the Song Dynasty, "released the military power with a glass of wine" at a banquet, relieved the ministers of military power, and weakened the status of military generals.
Although this practice was conducive to strengthening the rule of imperial power, it seriously weakened the combat effectiveness of the army, making the Song Dynasty helpless against foreign invasions on the border.
Under the national policy of the rulers of the Song Dynasty to reuse Wenchen, the diplomatic war can be said to be repeated defeats, which will affect the negative social trend of the people.
After losing the war for many years, the literati and the people had to work hard from other ways to save this situation, and literature became the carrier of this goal, and the culture of filial piety also developed and grew through this platform.
Along with the stability of the political situation, the prosperity and development of the economy have also created conditions for the development of ideology and culture. In terms of science and technology, Bi Sheng summed up the experience of his predecessors and invented movable type printing, which made the circulation of books more convenient and conducive to promoting the spread of ideology and culture.
Under the relaxed political environment dominated by literati and the prosperous economy as the material foundation, a strong cultural atmosphere was formed in the Song Dynasty.
The Confucian concept of filial piety was also incorporated into the new understanding of Buddhism, and the culture of filial piety had a deep philosophical background during this period.
With the unremitting efforts of the literati of the Song Dynasty, "filial piety" gradually became "the way of filial piety" and became a constraint on the operation of social laws. The ruler also hoped to make his country stable and strong by governing the country with filial piety.
Second, where is the embodiment of the culture of filial piety in the Song Dynasty
1. The emperor practiced filial piety by example
The perfection of filial piety culture in the Song Dynasty benefited from the ruler who made a good start, and the special historical background in the early days of the founding of the Song Dynasty made Song Taizu need to establish a unified standard in ideology and morality...... It's still a rule."
The representative of the filial piety of the emperor of the Southern Song Dynasty was Zhao Yan of Song Xiaozong, who was the adopted son of Song Gaozong, and Zhao Yan kept filial piety for Song Gaozong for three years after his death. Not only that, Song Xiaozong also had to support the Emperor Zhao Gou, which can be said to be the starting point of Zhao Yan's filial piety.
When Song Gaozong was about to abdicate, he and Song Xiaozong made a rule to go to Deshou Palace four times a month to worship.
Four times a month, important performances at the imperial court would be sent to Deshou Palace, and it became Xi for Song Xiaozong to report to the emperor.
The appointment and dismissal of personnel and the decision of major events must also be approved by the Emperor Taishang before they can be implemented, which shows that Song Xiaozong strictly listened to the opinions of the elderly in strict accordance with the way of the ancients.
2. The ruler implements the culture of respecting the elderly and pension measures
Respecting the elderly is one of the important parts of filial piety culture, and rewarding the elderly is a common way for rulers to implement it, which has existed in the pre-Qin period.
Due to the war of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, this tradition was interrupted, and the rulers of the Song Dynasty, in order to reshape the moral order of the society, vigorously promoted filial piety, advocated the rule of the world with filial piety, and rewarded the elderly many times for this.
In order to encompass officials and make them consciously assume the responsibility of spreading filial piety, the Song Dynasty rewarded the parents of officials, and their age regulations were relatively flexible, ranging from 70 to 90 years old.
Song Taizu was able to "tone the same" in the main hall because Xu Qiongnian, the father of Xu Yong, the former lieutenant of Lu County, was able to "speak in an unfailing tone" in the main hall, and rewarded him as a courtesy. During the period of Song Xiaozong, it was stipulated that "the parents of the scholars will be awarded the official title when they are 70 or 80 years old".
In the elderly group of the common people, in order to show the importance of the central dynasty and the compassion of the emperor. The Song Dynasty set a nationwide standard for rewarding the elderly, based on the age of 90.
In the first year of Daguan, Song Huizong granted amnesty to the world, "the people are 100-year-old male officials and women are sealed", which shows that the rewards for women are also treated equally.
The Southern Song Dynasty also continued the standard of 90 years old in the Northern Song Dynasty, and after Song Gaozong ascended the throne, he ordered to reward "those who are over 90 years old" Su Bao, etc., and 90 years old has become a symbol of the Song Dynasty's reward for the elderly people.
3. Continue the tradition of filial piety as an official
During the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, after Dong Zhongshu's idea of "deposing the hundred schools of thought and respecting Confucianism alone" was adopted, Confucianism became the orthodoxy of ancient Chinese society and had a profound impact on later dynasties.
The Song Dynasty continued the tradition of selecting officials in the imperial examination system of the Tang Dynasty, and also set up a recommendation channel that integrated the Han Dynasty's "filial piety and honesty".
In the imperial examination examination, the "culture of filial piety" was emphasized, and the "Book of Filial Piety" was included in the assessment content...... It is also "Analects" and "Filial Piety".
Compared with the Han and Tang dynasties, the rulers of the Song Dynasty paid more attention to the assessment of the talents of the filial piety.
After the filial piety is recommended, they must also participate in the special examination organized by the imperial court, and only through the imperial examination can they enter the court as an official, and those who have no actual talent are not hired.
In order to allow officials to better fulfill their filial piety, the imperial court rewarded officials with outstanding filial piety in the form of promotion, and at the same time could set a moral model of officialdom in this form.
For unfilial officials, according to the punishment of the "Song Criminal Union", they will be given "edicts" and "dismissal", "removal and suspension", etc., and the punishment will be replaced by official attribution.
Although the imperial court strictly enforces the recusal system, the imperial court will be lenient in the face of some officials who have no one to take care of their parents at home.
Jinshi Yao You had resigned many times because of his mother during his tenure as an official, and the imperial court was moved by his filial piety to rearrange his inauguration area, so that he could fulfill his filial piety, "the secretary of the relocation department, the bachelor of Jialongtuge, the daimyo Yin, the bachelor of the Yankang Palace, the scholar of the Ministry of Industry, and the Ministry of Migration."
4. The culture of filial piety in the daily life of the people
Under the vigorous promotion of the rulers of the Song Dynasty, the culture of filial piety was integrated into the daily life of the people, the most significant of which was family education, and family education was reflected in the family motto.
Sima Guang's "Family Fan" in the Northern Song Dynasty can be said to be the culmination of filial piety education in the Song Dynasty, "Family Fan" collects the expositions of filial piety culture in the past dynasties, and uses many allusions to filial piety to warn future generations to learn Xi filial piety culture.
At the same time, he also wrote "Household Miscellaneous Rites" to regulate the daily behavior of children, such as "parents and aunts do not dare to sit if they are not ordered".
In addition to family education, school education also attaches great importance to filial piety education, "The Book of Filial Piety" has been included in the school textbook by the state, as well as the well-known "Three Character Classic", its easy-to-understand form has quickly become a popular filial piety enlightenment reading.
Under the dual education of family and school, the culture of filial piety is deeply integrated into the minds of the younger generation.
5. The culture of filial piety in society
The invention of printing in the Song Dynasty made the printing and dissemination of books more convenient, which laid the foundation for the Song people to sell books.
There are many kinds of notebooks and novels of the literati of the Song Dynasty, and the discussion of filial piety is mainly based on the story of persuasion of filial piety, which is also divided into two categories, one is to emphasize the importance of filial piety, and the other is to record the story of filial piety and the custom of filial piety.
"History of the Song Dynasty: Art and Literature" records the 20 volumes of the music history "Filial Piety Record", 50 volumes of "Guangxiao Book" and so on.
Persuasion poems and persuasion of filial piety also developed rapidly during this period, and compared with the Tang Dynasty, not only did the number increase, but the language also became more popular.
Song Qi's "Filial Piety" wrote that "the husband is filial, the nature of heaven and earth, and the spirit of man", and the concise and clear language is more conducive to the spread of civil society.
Lin Tong's "Poems of Filial Piety" depicts and celebrates the characters who practiced filial piety from ancient times to the Sui and Tang dynasties, listing filial piety in all fields of society, from the emperor to the common people, and the wide range of involvement can be seen in the strength of his advocacy. The culture of filial piety benefited from the circulation of these readings among the people, which made the society form a style of filial piety.
3. Summary
Based on the special historical background, the filial piety culture of the Song Dynasty had a good space for development, and then formed a complete filial piety culture system. The rulers of the Song Dynasty practiced and played an exemplary role for the people, and at the same time integrated the assessment of filial piety and morality into the imperial examination, so that the selection of officials by filial piety could be passed on.
Under the rulers of the Song Dynasty, the culture of filial piety was well integrated into politics and education, and filial piety was advocated as the basis of ethics and morality, and played an important role in society.
bibliography
1. "History of the Song Dynasty"
2. "Renewal of Capital and Governance"
3, "Home Miscellaneous Instruments"