The Filial Duty of Common People

The Book of Filial Duty, by Ivan Chen, [1908], at sacred-texts.com

CHAPTER VI

THE FILIAL DUTY OF COMMON PEOPLE

To do the necessary in every season (such as growing crops in spring and reaping harvest in autumn), to do the utmost to make lands as fertile as possible, and to be frugal in their expense, in order to keep their parents in comfort, is the filial duty of the common people.

From the Emperor downwards to the common people, every one has the same duty imposed upon him, and there is no instance in which we can find that a man cannot fulfil this duty.