The Master said, “How filial Min Ziqian is! No one disputes what his parents and brothers say about him.”
Note
This statement from the Analects of Confucius highly praises Min Ziqian’s filial piety. According to traditional accounts (e.g., The Twenty-Four Filial Exemplars), Min lost his mother young. His stepmother favored her own sons, giving them warm cotton clothes in winter while stuffing Min’s coat with reed catkins (which provided little warmth). When his father discovered this and angrily decided to divorce the stepmother, Min knelt and pleaded: “With Mother here, only one son suffers cold; if Mother leaves, all three sons will be orphaned.” His words moved the entire family and became a celebrated example of virtue.
Confucius’s remark – “no one disputes what his parents and brothers say” – means that Min’s filial and fraternal conduct was so sincere and exemplary that even his immediate family spoke of him with complete unanimity, and outsiders fully accepted their praise without doubt.
This illustrates the Confucian view that filial piety is not merely ritual compliance but an inner moral quality capable of harmonizing the family and earning public trust. True filial piety brings peace to relatives and credibility in society – it possesses the power to unify the household and stabilize human relationships. Through this, Confucius underscores that filial piety is the root of benevolence (humaneness), and the truly filial person acts with such integrity that all voices – family and community – converge in admiration.
Further Reading
Virtue: Yan Yuan, Min Ziqian, Ran Boniu, Zhong Gong. Analects 11.3 (Xian Jin)
Confirms Min Ziqian’s standing as a paragon of moral character – his filial piety is a key aspect of his recognized de xing (moral excellence).
Youzi said, “A person who is filial and respectful to elders rarely defies superiors… Filial piety and fraternal respect – are they not the roots of humaneness (benevolence)?” Analects 1.2 (Xue Er)
Both identify filial piety as the foundation of moral character and social harmony – Min Ziqian exemplifies this “root” in action.
子曰：「孝哉閔子騫！人不間於其父母昆弟之言。」
Leave a Reply