Primary and middle schools are caught in a wave of "filial piety lessons", which, among other things, requires students to wash their parents' feet. Meng Man, a scholar with the Minzu University of China, has criticized such lessons as foolishness. But it has to be clarified that filial piety is not foolishness. What is foolishness is the way it is being taught to students in schools, says an article in Yangtze Evening Post. Excerpts:

It is natural for people to help their old parents wash their feet after a tiring day. Washing parents' feet is not wrong, but passively watching tired parents do housework and then struggle to wash their feet themselves without helping them do so is.

Lu Xun criticized his contemporaries for their foolish filial piety under special historical circumstances. But the times have changed. Loose family ties, especially between old parents and their offspring, and indifferent kinship have become a social reality, which call for precautionary measures.

Under such circumstances, criticizing the filial piety lessons being given to students by citing Lu Xun is a misunderstanding not only of the true meaning of filial piety, but also of the great writer.

Education in Chinese traditional culture, including filial piety, is indeed quite popular today. But because of lack of proper understanding of traditional culture, the lessons being taught in middle and primary schools have become a mere formality.

But while criticizing the form of the lessons, we also need to discuss and learn from them, instead of abandoning what should be rightly passed down to the next generation. Mechanical imitation has invited criticism from some scholars but some of their reactions seem exaggerated.

What should be criticized is not washing of parents' feet but the rigid way filial piety is being taught to students in schools. Hopefully, teachers and students will avoid falling victims to impetuous opinions and not ignore exploring their ancestors' great thoughts and pursuit of righteousness in family, society and the self.

(China Daily 08/24/2011 page9)