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Dong Yong's Filial Piety Touched the Heavens
by Lu Wen
(Clearwisdom.net) Filial piety is one of the Chinese traditional virtues.
All the kindhearted and capable emperors in Chinese history promoted filial
piety among their people. Only when a person respects and loves his parents can
he respect the elderly in society, humbly learn from the seniors in the work
place, devote himself to the country, and sacrifice his life to defend the
country. Filial piety's true meaning and its derived characteristics were used
to educate children and people, and the results were very good. In God's view,
filial piety is one of the great virtues and should be valued and promoted among
humans. Below is a story about Dong Yong, a son with filial piety who was rewarded by
Heaven. Dong Yong was a real person in the Han Dynasty
(206 BC - AD 200). He did not pursue "free love" as in the novels
crafted by the writers or dramatists. Dong Yong was from the Qianchen area of the Han Dynasty, currently north of
Gaoyuan Town, Gaoqing County, Shandong Province. After his mother died when he
was a child, he did his best to serve and care for his father. He worked hard to
give his father a happy life. When he went to the field to farm, he pulled his
father on his cart to the field. His father rested besides the field so he did
not feel lonely. After his father died, he did not have money to bury him., so
he sold himself to be a servant and used the money to bury his father.
Recognizing his kindness and virtue, his master gave him a fair amount of money
and let him go home. Dong Yong stayed home and mourned his father. After three full years, he left
home to go to his master's home to work as a servant. On his way there, he met a
lady. She said to him, "I'd like to be your wife." So Dong Yong and
his new wife arrived at his master's home. His master told Dong Yong, "The money I gave you was a present. You can
go home." Dong Yong said, "With your kind gift, I was able to bury my
father properly. Although I am poor and my status is low, I do have my dignity.
I want to work for you to pay back your kindness and graciousness." His
master asked, "What can your wife do?" He replied, "She can
weave." His master said, "If that's the case, your wife can weave one
hundred rolls of silk for me, and then we are even." Dong Yong's wife then
began to weave cloth for the master. It only took her ten days to weave one
hundred rolls of silk. Dong Yong and his wife said goodbye to his master. After they left the
master's home, his wife told him, "I am a weaver in the heavens. Because of
your filial piety to your father, the Heavenly God asked me to help you pay back
your debts. Now I have completed my mission, so I will say goodbye." Right
after she spoke, she flew up to the sky. Dong Yong's historical account is found in Gan Bao's book, Searching
Deities. Gan Bao lived in the Dongjin Dynasty (317-420 A.D.) He wrote Searching
Deities based on many folk and fairy tales. During the Chinese New Year when families gather, the elderly like to tell
children stories of filial piety. February 15, 2007 |