Mencius said:
“What duty is greatest? Serving one’s parents is greatest.
What must be guarded above all? Guarding one’s own moral integrity is paramount.
I have heard of people with moral integrity can serve their parents well;
but I have never heard of anyone of lax morals can do so.There are various kinds of duties. Yet serving parents is the root of them all.
There are various things to guard. Yet guarding one’s moral self is the basic one.”
“When Zengzi cared for his father Zeng Xi, he always provided wine and meat at meals.
When clearing the table, he would always ask his father, ‘To whom shall we give the leftovers?’
If his father asked, ‘Is there any extra?’ Zengzi would always reply, ‘Yes!’After Zeng Xi passed away, Zeng Yuan (Zengzi’s son) cared for Zengzi in the same way – wine and meat every meal.
But when clearing the table, he never asked his father who should receive the leftovers.
When asked, ‘Is there any extra?’ he would say, ‘No,’ – intending to save it to serve again later.This is what we call ‘nourishing the mouth and body’ – merely meeting physical needs.
But Zengzi practiced ‘nourishing the will’ – honoring his father’s dignity and intentions.
Only someone who serves parents like Zengzi can be said to fulfill true filial piety.”
孟子曰：「事孰為大？事親為大；守孰為大？守身為大。不失其身而能事其親者，吾聞之矣；失其身而能事其親者，吾未之聞也。孰不為事？事親，事之本也；孰不為守？守身，守之本也。曾子養曾皙，必有酒肉。將徹，必請所與。問有餘，必曰『有』。曾皙死，曾元養曾子，必有酒肉。將徹，不請所與。問有餘，曰『亡矣』。將以復進也。此所謂養口體者也。若曾子，則可謂養志也。事親若曾子者，可也。」
Note
This passage from Mencius: Li Lou I draws a profound distinction in Confucian filial piety: true care lies not in material provision alone, but in respecting the parent’s autonomy, dignity, and inner life.
“Guarding one’s integrity” as the basis of filial piety
Mencius asserts that moral selfhood is non-negotiable. If one compromises ethics to please parents (e.g., through corruption or deceit), one brings shame upon them – thus failing filial duty. True filial piety requires the child to be morally whole.
“Nourishing the Will” vs. “Nourishing the Mouth and Body”
- Nourishing the Mouth and Body: providing food, shelter – basic physical care.
- Nourishing the Will: honoring the parent’s wishes, preserving their sense of agency.
Zengzi’s practice – asking “To whom shall we give the leftovers?” – allowed his father to feel generous and socially connected, not merely dependent.
Zengzi as the model of ethical filiality
As a key disciple of Confucius and author of the Classic of Filial Piety, Zengzi embodied the ideal that filial piety integrates ritual, emotion, and moral consistency – even in small daily acts.
Continuity with Confucius’s teaching
This echoes Confucius’s warning in the Analects:
“Even dogs and horses are fed – without reverence, how is that filial?”
The core is reverence, manifested here as attentiveness to the parent’s psychological and social needs.
Modern Relevance
Later traditions sometimes reduced filial piety to blind obedience or extreme sacrifice. Mencius offers a more humane vision: filial love thrives on mutual respect, not submission.
In today’s aging societies, his insight urges us beyond material support toward “emotional support” – ensuring elders retain purpose, voice, and dignity.
In essence, Mencius teaches: To feed a parent is easy; to see them – as a person with a will worth honoring – that is true filial piety.
Leave a Reply