Hieu Thao: The Powerful Word In Vietnamese Culture

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Hieu thao: The Powerful Word in Vietnamese Culture In Vietnamese culture, hieu thao, translated as filial piety in English, is the root of all virtue. According to Dr. Hashimoto's definition in The Cambridge Handbook of Age and Ageing, filial piety in the traditional family systems in Asia is generally understood as the "fulfillment of family obligations" that children must do towards their parents (Historical Roots). Actually, this theory has been spiritual rope binding children and their parents since they were born, and even continues after their parents pass away. Although that general definition is useful, it is still far too limited. Completely, the followings will be significant explanations to shape the definition of hieu thao (filial …show more content…

Specifically, in the book of Ritual and the Moral Life, Xianglong Zhang, Ph.D. at Chinese Academy Of Sciences , notes that "western philosophers, such as Heidegger, Merleau-Ponty, Levinas, and feminists... neglect the idea of filial piety as a family love." (108) Accordingly, this explanation clearly points out the powerful meaning of the parent-child-relationship in Asian culture including Vietnam. Therefore, children must have this awareness since they were a child, and execute the filial duties when growing up. Because of the powerful meaning of hieu thao, the Vietnamese children who love others while not loving their parents will be criticized for being bat hieu …show more content…

That also means the children owe their parents for bringing them to life. According to Tu Thu (the set of four canonical books of Chinese literature), Confucius mentions that the most constant source of worry for parents is when their children are sick or painful disease. So the children have to take care of themselves in order to keep away their parents from concern (127). Definitely, the children must keep their bodies healthy to avoid sickness or injuries so that their parents feel peace of mind. In other words, filial piety is the duty of the children to take care of

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