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[June 2016] Book Review by Chao Sou Ian
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- 2016-06-14
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GIC Library Book Review
Foolish Filial
Folk Tales From
Korea (The Man Who Wanted to Bury His Son)
Author: Jeong Inseop
GIC Library Genre: Korea
3 out of 5 stars
Reviewer: CHAO Sou Ian
Under the influence of Confucianism, Korean and Chinese people attach much importance to being filial (효도 - 孝道). The social rules require to treat one’s parents well and to respect them. This is how this story starts. A man's mother shared her food with her grandson, and the man was afraid that his mother will not be able to suffice her appetite due to his son. So he decided to bury his son for his mother’s sake. Fortunately, while digging the hole, the man found a bowl sent by the Mountain God, who was moved by his filial piety. This bowl from the Mountain God overflew immediately with whatever was put inside (even food and pennies). The family lived happy again together.
In the Chinese traditional book entitiled “24 Stories of Filial Piety”, similar stories can be found. However, even if the character still receive the prize from God because of the touching filial piety. the man gets the gold from the God Himself, not from a bowl. When considering the story, do you think that the man, who was going to burry his son alive in order to save his mother from starvation, is a good thing? In folk tales about filial piety, in order to show how much people love and take care of their parents, the stories are usually utterly bizarre. Another example taken from a folk tale is a 70-year-old man who, in order to amuse his parents, was dressing and acting like a little child to make his parents happy ever after. For filial piety, people could do everything!
Surely we need to be grateful for our parents as they devoted a lot to us, but it doesn't mean to be foolish and giving up on everything. Treating our parents well, doesn't mean a total obedience to their control. We should show our love to them in a proper and simple way.
When parents try to teach their children filial piety, it is better to educate them through action. Parents should explain the folk tales in their own way to their children, not just describe the stories.
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