Mạnh Tông
Definition
- Proper Noun:
- Meng Zong: A figure from the "Twenty-Four Filial Exemplars" (Nhị thập tứ hiếu), a classic Chinese text that praises models of filial piety. He is renowned for a specific story involving his deep mourning for his mother.
Usage Examples
- Proper Noun:
- Mạnh Tông là một trong Nhị thập tứ hiếu. (Meng Zong is one of the Twenty-Four Filial Exemplars.)
- Câu chuyện về lòng hiếu thảo của Mạnh Tông rất nổi tiếng. (The story of Meng Zong's filial piety is very famous.)
Advanced Usage
- "Khóc măng" (Weeping for Bamboo Shoots): This is the name of the specific story associated with Meng Zong. In winter, his ailing mother wished to eat bamboo shoots. With none available, Meng Zong went to a bamboo grove and wept in despair. His filial devotion moved the earth, causing bamboo shoots to sprout out of season, which he then gathered for his mother.
Variants and Related Words
- Nhị thập tứ hiếu (n): The Twenty-Four Filial Exemplars.
- Hiếu thảo (adj/n): Filial piety; being filial.
Synonyms
- Filial son: A son who shows great devotion and respect to his parents.
Cultural Context
- Historical Figure: Meng Zong (Mạnh Tông) lived during the Three Kingdoms period of China. His story is a central parable in East Asian cultures promoting the Confucian virtue of filial piety (). He is sometimes conflated or confused with a similar figure named Meng Zong (Mạnh Tông) from the Jin Dynasty, whose story involves obtaining fish for his mother. The "Weeping for Bamboo Shoots" tale is the most commonly attributed narrative.