...procreation, was always understood to play a central role in filial piety. As Mencius famously commented: "There are three things which are unfilial, and to have no posterity is the greatest of them" (Legge 1970, 313). T'ung-tsu Ch'ii elaborates: "It may be said that the family had to be maintained...

...world in which life was short and perilous. Fertility was stressed. The Confucian writer Mencius said: "There are three things which are unfilial, and to have no posterity is the worst of them." Shang says: "Many Chinese, if not most, still believe in this today." Through history,...

...maintenance of ancestor worship. The emphasis placed on producing progeny was duly stated by Mencius: "There are three things which are unfilial, and to have no posterity is the greatest of them."25 A celibate son, renouncing his sacred duty for a life as a Buddhist monk, thus seemed to threaten...

...is also considered the most serious violation against traditional morality. As is stated in Mencius, "There are three things which are unfilial, and to have no posterity is the worst of them."" Many Chinese, if not most, still believe in this today. Some might jump to the conclusion...

...piety is to provide male offspring to propagate the family name. Mencius has specifically stated that, "There are three things which are unfilial. and to have no posterity is the greatest of them all" tMencius 4A: 26; Lau. p. 75). This explains why births in general and male births in particular...