Page 405 - A Dictionary of Chinese Symbols BIG Book

X

Xiao
X
Xiao

Filial piety – xiao – ranked with loyalty to the ruler as the highest moral duty incumbent
on every Chinese. Whole libraries of books and pictures are devoted to illustrating
exemplary cases of filial piety: these do not always fit in with our ideas of good moral
behaviour, but they are to this day admired and respected by all Chinese. Perhaps the best
known series is the so-called ‘Twenty-four Examples of Filial Piety’ (Er-shi-si xiao).
‘Donning filial piety’ means wearing mourning when parents or other near relatives
die. The garments worn on such occasions are called su and are made from coarse,
undyed cloth which is usually brownish in colour: which does not stop the Chinese from
describing it as white.
Richard Wilhelm has translated the old Chinese work known as the Xiao-jing into
German as Das Buch von der kindlichen Ehrfurcht (1912). He describes the work as ‘an
extremely interesting attempt to reduce the whole of morality – which includes, as the
Chinese see it, the political life of the state – to one all-embracing and unifying
principle’.
Xiu-cai Xiu-cai

‘A blossoming talent’ is a man who has passed the first of the state examinations, and
who can therefore set about studying for the next grade. For many hopefuls, this was as
far as they ever got. The state examination system was abolished in 1904. The title of xiu-
cai was also given to palace staff who had to be able to read, at least.
Xi-wang-mu Xi-wang-mu