I finally for the life of me understand what Chinese filial piety entails. It’s not just being nice to your parents and getting married and having descendents for your family. It’s about creating the most pomp when sending your deceased parents and relatives to hell. Oh come on, as honourable the dead might have been in life all Chinese souls invariably go to hell, unless they were monks and nuns, then those have no descendents to speak of. The rest of us, one-way ticket to hell, definitely. So filial piety must involve playing music at a funeral at 7am to wake up all the neighbours to tell them loud and proud – “hey! I’m sending my dad/mum/aunt/uncle to hell! Come look! If you’re still asleep, wake up and come join the festitivity!”
That must be it, right? I can’t think of a more elegant theory to account for why funerals have to be such pompous affair, even at 7am.
Chinese Filial Piety
I finally for the life of me understand what Chinese filial piety entails. It’s not just being nice to your parents and getting married and having descendents for your family. It’s about creating the most pomp when sending your deceased parents and relatives to hell. Oh come on, as honourable the dead might have been in life all Chinese souls invariably go to hell, unless they were monks and nuns, then those have no descendents to speak of. The rest of us, one-way ticket to hell, definitely. So filial piety must involve playing music at a funeral at 7am to wake up all the neighbours to tell them loud and proud – “hey! I’m sending my dad/mum/aunt/uncle to hell! Come look! If you’re still asleep, wake up and come join the festitivity!”
That must be it, right? I can’t think of a more elegant theory to account for why funerals have to be such pompous affair, even at 7am.