Filial Obedience in Confucianism and Paternal Metaphor

"The Master [Confucius] said, 'While a man's father is alive, look at the bent of his will; when his father is dead, look at his conduct. If for three years he does not alter from the way of his father, he may be called filial.' "[ Confucius & others. Analects, Book 1, 142. The Chinese Classis. Second Edition. Vol 1. Trans: James Legge. Taipei: Literature, History and Philosopny Press, 1960. Print] The verse in Book I of the Analects turned me away from the masterpiece again and again in my teenage years. My intuitive criticism seems obvious; apart from the patriarchal implication, what if the father is someone not worth learning from, such as a thief or a murderer? Does Confucius advocate for the child's blind obedience to parents, especially to the father, as part of filial piety which he considers to be the foundation of politics?[ " '...You are filial, you discharge your brotherly duties. These qualities are displayed in government,' This then also constitutes the exercise of government." Ibid., Book 2, 153.] Today, the puzzle whether filial piety requires blind obedience becomes not only a personal concern of "rebellious" teenagers, but also an essential problem in the re-interpretation and practice of Confucianism in contemporary China.

It is justifiable that the child should learn from the father. In Lacan's theory of paternal metaphor, Lacan introduces the father figure into the mother-child relationship. "The mother's respect for the name-of-the-father causes the child to question itself"[ W. Ver Eecke. Phenomenology and Paternal Metaphor, 113. Phenomenology and Psychoanalysis, the 6th Annual Symposium of the S.Silverman Phenomenology Center. Pittsburgh: Duquesne University. 1988. Print.], and the child may radically co...

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... York: MacMillan Publishing Co., Inc. 1948) in the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC). The term then extends to all people who practice the Confucian missions in society, who are educated, kind, honest, curious, diligent, cautious, serious, lenient, loyal, responsible, etc., and thus who meet the Confucian standards of "a gentleman".

W. Ver Eecke. Phenomenology and Paternal Metaphor, 111.

"The Master said, 'he who exercises government by means of his virtue may be compared to the north polar star, which keeps its place and all the stars turn towards it." Analects, Book 2, 145.

Ibid., Book 12, 256. The feudal implications of "prince" and "minister" can be transformed into contemporary ideas of government and citizens. The "prince" responsible for organizing the society is the government, and the "minister" working for the country's development is the citizens.