As one of the cores of Chinese culture, "filiality" is not only the moral code for maintaining family relationships in Chinese society for thousands of years, but also the traditional virtue of Chinese Nation. A Yuan-dynasty(元朝Yuáncháo) writer Guo Jujing(郭居敬Guō Jūjìng) compiled the stories of 24 filial exemplars in ancient times and finished the Stories of Filiality. Let me introduce the 21th story to you.

Weep at Tomb When Hearing Thunder

Wang Pou (王裒Wáng Póu) was a filial son who lived during the Three Kingdoms Period(三国时期Sānguó shíqī). His mother dreaded the sound of thunder-claps. Every time the sky filled with dark clouds and rain was on the way, Wang Pou would run to his mother's side to comfort her and to calm her fears. If her son was not at her side, the old woman felt unbearable alarm.

After his mother passed on, Wang Pou buried her in a neighboring graveyard. Even though the old lady was no longer alive, every time a storm approached, and it appeared that lightning was coming, he would run to the graveside and kneel by his mother's tombstone with tears running down his cheeks. "Don't cry Mother, your son is nearby!", he would call, just as if his mother was alive. As long as the storm lasted, the man remained near the grave, circling around it countless times, to protect his mother's spirits and keep her from fear.

Later when he taught school, every time he read a passage that mentioned the emotion felt by devoted sons and daughters for their departed parents, Wang Pou's own feelings would overflow, and he would cry with deep longing. Seeing this behavior, his students would carefully remove any texts that talked about the tender feelings of children for their parents. Wang Pou always emphasized in his lessons the necessity of repaying the kindness of one's parents while they are still alive. He was considered a model of filial behavior, and his constant regard for his departed mother moved the hearts of all those who witnessed it.

A verse in his honor says,

His mother dreaded most the sound of thunder-claps; He knelt beside the bed to calm her fears; Still he hurries to her grave and circles 'round, Each time a rumbling thunder-storm appears.

The next story is: Carve Wood for Worshipping Parents