孝 xiào filial piety
filial piety; obedience; mourning
How it came to be
An old person with long hair, bent over, and a child underneath taking the weight. The child is drawn as the support rather than the burden, and that arrangement is the whole idea.
用法
- Filial devotion to parents: 孝顺 (xiàoshùn) dutiful, 孝敬 (xiàojìng) to honor and provide for elders, 尽孝 (jìn xiào) to fulfill one's filial duty.
- Also mourning: 戴孝 (dàixiào) to wear mourning for a dead relative.
- A core Confucian virtue; 不孝 (búxiào) is a serious reproach.