–The story’s narrator is revisiting a place he once lived. Explain the significance that this “revisiting” has in relation to the themes of the story.
–What is the connection between our narrator and Weifu? Why do you think so much of the story is spent on Weifu’s life, while the narrator shares very little about his own life experiences?
–Explain the significance of the story about reburying Weifu’s little brother?
–Weifu recalls when he and the narrator used to pull the beards off religious statues in the Temple when they were younger. What is the significance of this memory?
–Describe an instance of filial piety in the story. What is its significance?
–What aspects of this short story seem to you to be particularly modernist?
–Describe an instance of filial piety in the story. What is its significance?
An instance of filial piety in the story is when we are introduced to Ah Shun. Ah Shun had to take the role of the mother in the family after her mother had passed away. Her new motherly duties consisted of raising her younger brother and sister, while also catering to her father. She also took on the role of helping her father with their finances. In the story, it is mentioned how respected she was for doing all of these things. This related to filial piety, because Ah Shun gives a lot of respect to her family. She is an embodiment of the phrase “Honor your father and your mother.”
Describe an instance of filial piety in the story. What is its significance?
There are several examples of filial piet throughout the story. In Confucian ethics, filial piety is to have respect for one’s parents, elders, and ancestors. We see this when Weifu says that he returned to rebury his brother’s coffin due to his mother’s request. He does not find a body there but continues to bury the coffin and conceal the fact that there was nobody in there in order to bring peace of mind to his mother. We see this again as to his mother respect he decides to take a spray of artificial flowers to Ah Shun.
Explain the significance of the story about reburying Weifu’s little brother?
When Weifu goes to rebury his brother he realizes the body has fully decomposed. The coffin is empty and there is nothing to actually bury. Weifu still decides to go through with it and rebury the empty coffin. The fact he traveled this distance and the peace for his mother is the reason he buries the empty coffin. Filial piety played a huge part in this point in time so making sure his mothers demand was completed was important to Weifu, even if he did not find it necessary to bury the empty coffin.
Describe an instance of filial piety in the story. What is its significance?
In the story,the narrator describes an instance where he returned to his old hometown to exhume his younger brother’s body because the river had overflown and began to wash away his grave. This however was a task his mother asked him to do,and although he himself did not see the significance of this, he did it out of respect and a sense of duty for his mother which is the example of filial piety.
The significance of this is the fact that people in this culture exude a great amount of respect to their family and these values are reflected in the story through the narrators character who shows the importance of obeying ones parents regardless of their own beliefs on a certain topic.
–Weifu recalls when he and the narrator used to pull the beards off religious statues in the Temple when they were younger. What is the significance of this memory?
This signifies their submission to traditional Chinese ideas. The act of pulling beards off the religious statues signifies their rebellious attitudes when they were younger. However, Weifu and the narrator seem to have lost that revolutionary passion they once had. For example, Weifu hoped to teach mathematics and other western education, but is not now teaching Confucian ideas. He is also very submissive to his mother which also shows his acceptance of traditional Confucian values such as filial piety.
Explain the significance of the story about reburying Weifu’s little brother?
The moment Weifu goes to rebury his little brother he notices that there was nothing there to rebury, yet he gathers the possible remains and reburies it. It was his mother’s wishes to rebury the remains of his little brother and because of filial piety he go through his task. He reburies the possible remains, against his own beliefs and opinions for the sake of his mother, signifying a sort of development that Weifu has gone through since when he was younger he would showcase his rebellion of culture.
Weifu recalls when he and the narrator used to pull the beards off religious statues in the Temple when they were younger. What is the significance of this memory?
That memory reveals that what weifu was like in the past. He used to fight against the traditional value and Confucianism, talking about change China all day long . However, now he makes a living on teaching Confucianism in a small school.
It is not only irony but very sad. Readers can tell Weifu has finally gives up his belief,
–What is the connection between our narrator and Weifu? Why do you think so much of the story is spent on Weifu’s life, while the narrator shares very little about his own life experiences?
They were old classmates and colleagues from the time the narrator was a teacher. I believe the reason is because it is Weifu’s story the one that contains the aspects that the author wants to place his focus on because they resemble the old and new China’s ways of thinking.
–Describe an instance of filial piety in the story. What is its significance?
Filial piety is the act of respecting ones parents or elders in Confucian and Chinese society. In essence it is a form of ethics. In the story Weifu rebury’s their little brother in order to fulfill this sense of filial piety and respect for their elders. It was significant because their was nothing to rebury of his little brother and the coffin was basically empty but he did what his mother wished anyway in order to fulfill his sense of filial piety and respect for her wishes.
Explain the significance of the story about reburying Weifu’s little brother?
The significance of the story about weifu buring his little brother is that he does out of respect for his mother. He doesn’t believe in old traditions, but he has grown out of the phase where he would tell his mom ” No I am not going to rebury my brother”. He now has more respect for old traditions or at least can tolerate them.