s parents and total obedience to one's parents. It also means honouring one's parents after their death.
             However, Xiao has many other connotations in the traditional Chinese culture. It pertains to servitude towards one's parents and the duty to continue the family lineage by producing offspring. It also refers to ancestor worship and respect for all who are more elderly than oneself, love for one's older siblings and good behaviour so as not to bring disgrace and shame to one's family.
             As early as 87 B.C., Xiao-Jing or Classic of Filial Piety was one of the first texts mastered by children. The compulsory learning of Xiao-Jing served two main purposes. Firstly, children were taught filial piety as a foundation for other virtues such as propriety, wisdom and fidelity. Chinese parents generally believed that if children were brought up in the right environment, they would grow up to become responsible and morally correct adults. Confucian scholars instituted that filial piety is the root of good conduct and without filial piety, men would be rebellious, dishonest and undisciplined. It is stated in the Analects of Confucius, "...filial piety and fraternal submission! - are they not the root of all benevolent actions?" It was believed that filial men would possess the qualities of benevolence, righteousness, desire for peace and harmony and impartiality. Therefore, by teaching children filial piety, parents believed that they were at the same time, providing them with cardinal moral education.
             Secondly, the traditional Chinese societal and governmental systems as prescribed by Confucius are based on hierarchy. Thus, it was essential that children are trained to respect authority. Filial piety is believed to inculcate the qualities of loyalty to one's country, responsibility towards society and state. If children are taught from young to respect and obey the key authoritarian figure in the household, that is the father, ...