Explain the importance of filial piety to the Chinese?

Answer 1

Filial piety is definitely essential to the proper practice of Confucianism. Confucius was a believer in knowing one's place within the social order; he believed this would lead to harmony and peace. As Confucius saw it, the social order was comprised of five basic relationships-- a king or emperor was superior to his subject, a father was superior to his son, a husband was superior to his wife, an elder brother was superior to a younger brother, and a parent was superior to a child.

Confucius stressed that children have a duty (called "filial piety") to respect and obey their parents. But filial piety was more than that. It was also extended to say that the living have a duty to show respect for their ancestors, just as a child shows respect to a parent. It is thanks to the ancestors (who gave birth to us) that we are here today, and they must be remembered and shown proper deference. Given that Confucianism is a way of life, even in modern and secularized China, children are still taught the doctrine of filial piety, and people in the society at large still remember and show respect for the memory of their ancestors.