Classic of Filial Piety of Lord Wenchang文昌帝君孝经
- Also known as
- Classic of Filial Piety of Lord Wenchang, Classic of Filial Piety of the Primordial Sovereign
- Author / transmission
- Attributed to a spirit-writing revelation from Lord Wenchang
- Period
- Qing · Purportedly transmitted by Wenchang Dijun through spirit-writing, probably emerging from the Qing-dynasty (17th–18th century) spirit-writing tradition; one fascicle, divided into chapters on rearing children, honoring parents, distinguishing true filiality, guarding the self, teaching filiality, and the resonance of filiality.
- Canon division
- Outside the Canon (Qing-dynasty morality book)
- Collected in
- Outside the canon (included in the Daozang jiyao and in morality-book compendia).
- Category
- Morality Books (Shanshu)
- Fascicles
- One Fascicle (Juan)
Synopsis
The Classic of Filial Piety of Lord Wenchang purports to have been transmitted through spirit-writing by Wenchang Dijun, composed in imitation of the format of the Confucian Classic of Filial Piety. It is divided into chapters such as 'On Rearing Children,' 'On Honoring One's Parents,' 'On Distinguishing True Filiality,' 'On Guarding the Self,' 'On Teaching Filiality,' and 'On the Resonance of Filiality,' expounding chapter by chapter on the debt owed to parents for begetting and raising one, the way of serving one's parents, the guarding of the self from disgrace as the root of filiality, the transformation of others through filiality, and the resonance of filial piety with Heaven, Earth and the spirits. Unlike the Confucian Classic of Filial Piety, which emphasizes political ethics, this scripture stresses the religious efficacy of filial conduct — a filial son can move the spirits, avert calamity and gain blessings, and extend merit to his descendants, while the unfilial are punished in the underworld tribunal; it also extends the scope of filiality to everyday conduct such as abstaining from killing, cherishing blessings, and revering written paper. The scripture emerged from the Qing-dynasty tradition of Wenchang worship and spirit-writing altars (luantang), and circulated alongside the Tract on Hidden Merit and the Register of the Cinnamon of Cinnabar among literati and charitable halls, often included in compendia such as the Wendi quanshu. It is a paradigmatic case study for examining how Daoism carried Confucian ethics through 'instruction by the way of the spirits,' and for the mechanisms of Qing-dynasty spirit-writing text production.
Key Ideas
- A Daoist scripture on filial piety modeled on the format of the Classic of Filial Piety
- Guarding the self from disgrace as the root of filiality
- The religious efficacy of filial conduct and reward and punishment by the underworld tribunal
- A product of Wenchang worship and spirit-writing altars
- Instruction by the way of the spirits carrying Confucian ethics
Structure
One fascicle, divided into chapters on rearing children, honoring parents, distinguishing true filiality, guarding the self, teaching filiality, and the resonance of filiality.
Editions
- Daozang jiyao edition
- Wendi quanshu edition
- Various charitable-hall printed editions
Full Text & Online Resources
Related scriptures
Tract on Hidden Merit of Lord Wenchang, Scripture Spoken by Lord Lao on Requiting the Profound Kindness of Parents, Register of the Cinnamon of Cinnabar- Terry Kleeman, A God's Own Tale, 1994
- 游子安《善与人同》
- 酒井忠夫《中国善书の研究》
- 维基百科「文昌帝君」条