Disciples

Chapter 5

Original
Parents call, don't delay;
Parents order, do not be lazy.

Translation
When your parents call you, you should agree immediately, without delay; what your parents ask you to do, you must treat it carefully, and don't procrastinate.

allusion
Wang Xiang was from the Jin Dynasty.He is filial, but lost his mother when he was very young.The stepmother often spoke ill of Wang Xiang in front of his father, so his father no longer spoiled him as before and made him do heavy work every day.But Wang Xiang had no complaints about his stepmother, on the contrary, he served her more thoughtfully and meticulously.When his parents were sick, he was there all night to take care of them himself.

One winter, when the wind was bitterly cold, his stepmother suddenly wanted to eat raw fish, but Wang Xiang ignored the cold and prepared to go into the water to catch fish.As a result, the ice layer broke open automatically, and two carp jumped out.Another time his stepmother wanted to eat a roasted oriole, so Wang Xiang caught one, roasted it himself, and gave it to his stepmother to eat. After the stepmother finished eating, he wanted to eat it. The oriole strayed into his tent.The neighbors were shocked by this, thinking that Wang Xiang's filial piety touched the heavens.

At the end of the Han Dynasty, the world was in chaos.Wang Xiang fled with his stepmother and younger brother and lived in seclusion in Lujiang for 30 years.The state and county offered him several times to take up official positions, but he refused on the grounds of serving his mother.After his stepmother passed away, he was even more distraught.Although Wang Xiang's way of filial piety to his parents is a bit too much, his spirit is commendable and more than admirable.

(End of this chapter)