Sacred Books of the East/Volume 3/The Hsiao/Chapter 11

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Sacred Books of the East, Vol. III, The Hsiâo King
translated by James Legge
Chapter XI: Filial Piety in Relation to the Five Punishments
3758587Sacred Books of the East, Vol. III, The Hsiâo King — Chapter XI: Filial Piety in Relation to the Five PunishmentsJames Legge

Chapter XI. Filial Piety in Relation to the Five Punishments.

The Master said, 'There are three thousand offences against which the five punishments are directed[1], and there is not one of them greater than being unfilial.

'When constraint is put upon a ruler, that is the disowning of his superiority; when the authority of the sages is disallowed, that is the disowning of (all) law; when filial piety is put aside, that is the disowning of the principle of affection. These (three things) pave the way to anarchy.'


  1. See the Shû, p. 43, and especially pp. 255, 256.