Chinese Stories of Filial Piety in Tangut Literature

Before the formal Chinese compilation of the “Twenty-four filial pieties” appeared in the Yuan era, there were lots of stories concerning family moral code spreading around the Central Kingdom and along the Gansu Corridor. Most of them entered Xixia through the channels of literary record or oral narration. Some of them were translated into Tangut more than once and became the most popular materials used in moral education for youth and in birthday congratulation for aged people. Sometimes the Tangut versions are quite different from the corresponding Chinese originals in their storylines or even in topics. Such fact shows that Tanguts tried their best to make Chinese culture integrate into their own and lots of their Tangut versions were recomposed through oral literature than historical records. Tanguts did not have the real concept of “Twenty-four filial pieties”, but their versions concerning filial piety show the transitory stage shortly before the Yuan era.