Selfless Offspring : Filial Children and Social Order in Medieval China

Both Western and Chinese intellectuals have long derided filial piety tales as an absurd and grotesque variety of children’s literature. __Selfless Offspring__ offers a fresh perspective on the genre, revealing the rich historical worth of these stories by examining them in their original context: the tumultuous and politically fragmented early medieval era (A.D. 100–600). At a time when no Confucian virtue was more prized than filial piety, adults were moved and inspired by tales of filial children. The emotional impact of even the most outlandish actions portrayed in the stories was profound, a measure of the directness with which they spoke to major concerns of the early medieval Chinese elite. In a period of weak central government and powerful local clans, the key to preserving a household’s privileged status was maintaining a cohesive extended family. Keith Knapp begins this far-ranging and persuasive study by describing two related historical trends that account for the narrative’s popularity: the growth of extended families and the rapid incursion of Confucianism among China’s learned elite. Extended families were better at maintaining their status and power, so patriarchs found it expedient to embrace Confucianism to keep their large, fragile households intact. Knapp then focuses on the filial piety stories themselves—their structure, historicity, origin, function, and transmission—and argues that most stem from the oral culture of these elite extended families. After examining collections of filial piety tales, known as __Accounts of Filial Children,__ he shifts from text to motif, exploring the most common theme: the "reverent care" and mourning of parents. In the final chapter, Knapp looks at the relative burden that filiality placed on men and women and concludes that, although women largely performed the same filial acts as men, they had to go to greater extremes to prove their sincerity.

Why and how do women engage with Buddhism and philosophy? The present volume aims to answer these questions by examining the life and philosophy of a Korean Zen Buddhist nun, Kim Iryxc5x8fp (1896-1971). The daughter of a pastor, Iryxc5x8fp began questioning Christian doctrine as a teenager. In a few years, she became increasingly involved in women’s movements in Korea, speaking against society’s control of female sexuality and demanding sexual freedom and free divorce for women. While in her late twenties, an existential turn in her thinking led Iryxc5x8fp to Buddhism; she eventually joined a monastery and went on to become a leading figure in the female monastic community until her death.

After taking the tonsure, Iryxc5x8fp followed the advice of her teacher and stopped publishing for more than two decades. She returned to the world of letters in her sixties, using her strong, distinctive voice to address fundamental questions on the scope of identity, the meaning of being human, and the value of existence. In her writing, she frequently adopted an autobiographical style that combined her experiences with Buddhist teachings. Through a close analysis of Iryxc5x8fp’s story, Buddhist philosophy and practice in connection with East Asian new women's movements, and continental philosophy, this volume offers a creative interpretation of Buddhism as both a philosophy and a religion actively engaged with lives as they are lived. It presents a fascinating narrative on how women connect with the world - whether through social issues such as gender inequality, a Buddhist worldview, or existential debates on human existence and provides readers with a new way of philosophizing that is transformative and deeply connected with everyday life.

Contents Acknowledgments Introduction 1. Extended Families and the Triumph of Confucianism 2. The Narratives: Origins and Uses 3. Accounts of Filial Offspring: Models for Emulation 4. Filial Miracles and the Survival of Correlative Confucianism 5. Reverent Caring 6. “Exceeding the Rites”: Mourning and Burial Motifs 7. Filial Daughters or Surrogate Sons? Conclusion Appendix: Variants of the Ding Lan Tale Notes Glossary Select Bibliography Index About the Author