The Twenty-four Chinese Paragons of Filial Piety
(Morokoshi nijûshi-kô, 唐土廾四孝)
Publisher: Daikwandô
(Fushimi-ya Zenroku)
1848
The
book entitled The Twenty-four Paragons of
Filial Piety was written by the Chinese scholar Guo
Jujing during the Yuan Dynasty. His pen name was Yizi,
and he is known in
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Japanese name:
Taishun Chinese name:
T’a Shun Legend:
Despite a neglectful father who favored his cruel stepmother and her son, Taishun cultivated land for his parents on Robinson:
S60.1 |
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Japanese name:
Môsô Chinese name:
Mêng Tsung Legend: Môsô fulfilled his sick mother’s wish to eat bamboo
shoots in mid-winter by journeying to a snow covered bamboo grove, where
after praying, he miraculously found a huge cache of delicious bamboo shoots
beneath the snow. Here he is carrying
a hoe and bamboo shoots through the snow. Robinson:
S60.2 |
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Japanese name:
Chinese name:
Han Wên-ti Legend: Robinson:
S60.3 |
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Another state of the above
print |
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Japanese name:
Teiran Chinese name:
Ting Lan Legend: Teiran carved wooden images of his parents to which he
regularly paid his respects. Returning
home one day he found a frown on the face of the statue of his mother and
learned that his wife had insulted his mother’s memory. He apologized to the wooden image and
severely scolded his wife. Here he is
being derided by his wife for prostrating himself before his parent’s
statues. Robinson:
S60.4 |
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Another version of the
above print. It is a less labor intensive
printing than the above, which almost invariably means a later edition. In this print, the delicate shading (bokashi) in the smoke, sky and title
cartouche was omitted. Bokashi was achieved by hand-applying
a gradation of ink to the wooden printing block rather than inking the block
uniformly. This hand-application had
to be repeated for each sheet of paper that was printed. |
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Japanese name:
Binshiken Chinese name:
Min-tzu-ch’ien Legend: Binshiken entreated his father to have mercy on his new
stepmother after his father found out that Binshiken
was being mistreated. Here Binshiken is sweeping the floor for his reclining
stepmother. Robinson:
S60.5 NOTE: This is a copy of a European print of Juno
and the Peacock |
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Japanese name:
Sôshin Chinese name:
Tsêng Ts’an Legend: Sôshin was gathering wood in the forest one day when his
mother back at home bit her own finger in anger at her son’s absence. Feeling his mother’s pain, he immediately
returned home. Here he is suddenly
sensing his mother’s distress. Robinson:
S60.6 |
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Japanese name:
Ôshô Chinese name:
Wang Hsiang Legend:
When his stepmother wanted to eat fresh fish in mid-winter, Ôshô went to a frozen pond and lay naked on the ice until
it melted in order to catch fish for her. Robinson:
S60.7 |
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Japanese name:
Rôraishi Chinese name:
Lao Lai Tzu Legend: At
age 70, Rôraishi still dressed and behaved like an
infant to amuse his senile parents. Robinson:
S60.8 |
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A later edition of the
above print |
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Japanese name:
Kyôshi Chinese name:
Chiang Shih Legend: Kyôshi, along with his wife, traveled great distances to
get good water and fresh carp desired by his aged mother. However, one day a fresh spring suddenly
bubbled up in their own garden and provided excellent water as well as fish. Robinson:
S60.9 |
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Japanese name:
Tô-fujin Chinese name:
T’ang Fu-jên Legend: Tô-fujin (also known as wife Tang) suckled her toothless
grandmother at her breasts. Robinson:
S60.10 |
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Japanese name:
Yôkyô Chinese name:
Yang Hsiang Legend: Yôkyô at 14 years of age was accompanying his father into the mountains when
a hungry tiger leapt out at them.
Without thinking of his own life, Yôkyô protectively jumped in front of his father and thus scared off the
tiger with his show of determined will. Robinson: S60.11 |
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Japanese name:
Tôyei Chinese name:
Tung Yung Legend: Tôyei indentured himself to a weaver in order to raise
money for his father’s burial. One day
he met a woman who, in the first hour after their marriage, wove enough silk
to fulfill the terms of his contract and then revealed herself to be the Heavenly
Weaver (Shokujo) before ascending to heaven. Robinson:
S60.12 |
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Japanese name:
Kôkyô Chinese name:
Huang Hsiang Legend: Kôkyô fanned his widowed father to cool him in the summer
and warmed his father’s bed with his own body in the winter. Here Kôkyô is
preparing his father’s bed. Robinson:
S60.13 |
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This is another version of
the above print. It is a less labor
intensive printing than the above, which almost invariably means a later
edition. In this print, the shading (bokashi) in the upper sky was
omitted. There are fewer colors in the
sky, in the foreground and in the father’s robe, indicating that the number
of woodblocks was reduced. |
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Japanese name:
Kwakkyo Chinese name:
Kuo Chü Legend: Kwakkyo, lamenting the fact that his aged mother was
going hungry because food was being eaten by his infant son, prepared to kill
the baby. While digging the grave he
discovered a pot of gold with an attached note (or inscription) that the
treasure was meant for him. Robinson:
S60.14 |
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Japanese name:
Shujushô Chinese name:
Legend: Shujushô was separated from his mother at age seven and
later became a high government official.
At age 55 he retired from office and began to search for his mother. After much prayer and writing a sutra with
his own blood he found his mother.
Here Shujushô is resting under a tree. Robinson:
S60.15 |
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Japanese name:
Yenshi Chinese name:
Yen Tzu Legend:
Yenshi disguised himself in a deer skin in order to
capture a doe, which he could milk in order to cure his parents’ eye
disease. Hidden in the deer herd he
was mistaken for a deer by hunters who roundly scolded him. However, when they heard his explanation
the hunters had only praise. Here Yenshi and a hunter are conversing. Robinson:
S60.16 |
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Japanese name:
Saijun Chinese name:
Ts’ai Shun Legend:
During a famine, Saijun went into the forest to
pick berries for his mother and divided his take into ripe and unripe
berries. Later, when accosted by
brigands and asked about the berries, he explained that he intended to eat
the unripe berries and give the ripe ones to his mother. The rebels were so impressed that they gave
Saijun some meat to take home. Here Saijun
encounters the brigands. Robinson:
S60.17 |
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Another state of the above
print |
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Japanese name:
Yukinrô Chinese name:
Yü Ch’ien-lou Legend: Yukinrô was a provincial governor who one day felt a pain
in his chest and had a premonition that his aged father was ill. Upon making the long journey home, Yukinrô found his father on his death bed and was told by
a doctor that someone must taste the excrement of the sick man to determine
if he would live or die. Yukinrô performed the unpleasant task, and when he
learned of his father’s impending demise, prayed all night that he might die
in his father’s place. Here Yukinrô is rushing home to be at his father’s bedside. Robinson:
S60.18 |
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Another state of the above
print |
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Japanese name:
Rikuseki Chinese name:
Lu Chi Legend:
When Rikuseki was six years old he was invited to
the home of a wealthy neighbor where he was given some persimmons, which he
slipped into his robes. Upon leaving,
the fruit fell out of his robes, and Rikuseki
explained that he intended to take them home for his mother. Here Rikuseki is
being commended by the wealthy neighbor. Robinson:
S60.19 |
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Japanese name:
Chûyû Chinese name:
Chung Yu Legend: Chûyû carrying bags of ice on his back for his parents Robinson:
S60.20 |
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Japanese name:
Chôkô and Chôrei Chinese name: Chang Hsiao and Chang Li Legend: Chôkô and Chôrei were brothers
who, to support their 80 year old mother, gathered berries in the forest. One day on his way home Chôkô
was attacked by robbers. As he had no
money, the robbers wanted to kill him, but Chôkô
begged that he might first deliver the food.
Just then Chôrei appeared and offered his
own life in place of his brother’s. So
impressed were the robbers that they set both brothers free and gave them
salt and rice. Here Chôrei is offering his own life in place of his
brother’s. Robinson:
S60.21 |
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Japanese name:
Ôhô Chinese name:
Wang P’ou Legend: Ôhô would rush to his mother’s grave during thunder
storms to comfort her spirit, because she had feared lightning while alive. Robinson:
S60.22 |
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Japanese name:
Gomô Chinese name:
Wu Mêng Legend:
Eight year old Gomô would let himself be bitten by
mosquitoes so as to spare his sleeping parents. Here he is fanning mosquitoes away from his
sleeping father. Robinson:
S60.23 |
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Japanese name:
Kôteiken Chinese name:
Huang T’ing-chien Legend: Kôteiken was a famous Northern Song calligrapher and poet
who was so devoted to his mother that he emptied her chamber pot himself. Robinson:
S60.24 |
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In keeping with the theme
of this series, the title page was designed as an imitation of a Chinese
stone rubbing, although it is actually a woodblock print. Woodblock prints that mimic stone rubbings
are called ishizuri-e.
The text is in Chinese characters rendered in seal script. The frame is decorated with a bat and a
stag antler. The bat is a symbol for
good luck, and the stag is a symbol for long life. |
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The preface to this series
is also an ishizuri-e with the text in Chinese. Musa Dojin from Kyto is identified
as the author. This is probably the
pen name of a well-known author, possibly Ryukatei Tanekazu, the author of the text on the individual prints
in this series. |
“Robinson” refers to listing in Kuniyoshi: The Warrior-Prints by Basil William Robinson (Cornell University Press, Ithaca, NY, 1982) and its privately published supplement.
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