________________
THE HSIÂO KING
OR
CLASSIC OF FILIAL PIETY.
INTRODUCTION.
CHAPTER 1. THE NAME OF THE CLASSIC; ITS EXISTENCE BEFORE
THE HAN DYNASTY; ITS CONTENTS, AND BY WHOM IT WAS WRITTEN.
1. The Chinese character pronounced Hsiao, which we translate by 'Filial Piety,' and which may also perform the part of an adjective, 'filial,' of a verb, 'to be filial,' or of Meaning of the an adverb, 'filially,' is one of the composite
character characters whose meaning is suggested by the Hsiao.
18. meanings of their constituent parts combined together. It is made up of two others,-one signifying 'an old man' or 'old age,' and beneath it the character signifying 'a son. It thus, according to the Shwo Wăn, the oldest Chinese dictionary (A.D. 100), presents to the eye 'a son bearing up an old man,' that is, a child supporting his parent. Hsiao also enters as their phonetical element into at least twenty other characters, so that it must be put down as of very early formation. The character King has been explained in the Introduction to the Shů King, p. 2; and the title, Hsiao King, means the Classic of Filial Piety.'
2. Many Chinese critics contend that this brief treatise was thus designated by Confucius himself, and that it received the distinction of being styled a King before
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