Analects (Confucius) - 2.5-2.8

I've been actively trying to be more respectful towards my parents and to other people. Not only have I tried applying the ideas of Confucius, but I also recently read an article about various forms of 'reciprocity,' that is, the transfer of goods and services between different kinds of relationships. There are three kinds of reciprocity: balanced, negative, and general. Balanced reciprocity is where people give with to another with the expectation of receiving a similar amount within a set period of time. Negative reciprocity is where people give with the expectation of receiving more than they gave in return. Generalized reciprocity is where people give to one another without the expectation of anything in return.

The example that the article gave for generalized reciprocity was the relationships within families. This really impacted me. I felt like oftentimes, I treat my siblings or such with negative reciprocity. I decided to try to make a switch to treating others, or at least my family and friends, with generalized reciprocity.

Anyway, according to the commentary, apparently the four verses I'm looking at today are a set called 'filiality,' dealing specifically with how children are supposed to treat their parents. I think I'm in the right state of mind for this right now, so I'm hoping it'll be a productive set of reflections.

. . .

2.5

Confucius explains that filiality consists of 'never disobeying' one's parents. I believe that what he means is that it's never good to disobey one's parents. I agree; parents almost always are working towards the benefit of their children, and try to instruct them to do what's best for them. Even when someone may be forced to disobey one's parents, it should never be because they believe that disobeying their parents is a good thing, but rather because it may be the better of two evils.

Another thing of note in this verse is Confucius's use of the character li, or 禮. I had thought before that this had meant been part of the word doli in Korean, which means good behavior. However, talking with my dad about the Analects, he explained that apparently, it was actually the word ye in Korean, which is closer to the English 'etiquette.' Ye has a lot of underlying connotations in Korean, and this correct translation is really helping me to understand Confucius's uses of the word in a new light.

2.6

Classic verse, quoted all the time: 'Let your mother and father be concerned only for your health.' Worrying about their child is one of the worst experiences for a parent: It's not filial to let them go through all that worry. Once, after I was somewhat rude to my parents, my mother explained that she was more worried about myself being rude to others who wouldn't be as forgiving as she was—where she would scold me for it, others would just dissociate themselves from me. These are the kind of worries that Confucius is talking about, I think.

2.7

Basically, Confucius says that it's not enough to do the bare minimum for a parent; one should have 'respectful vigilance,' which I took to be proactivity. I think that this applies everywhere, not just to parents.

2.8

I don't really understand this one, and there's no commentary on it either to make it easier to decipher. I'm especially struggling with when Confucius says, 'It is the expression on the face that is difficult.' I looked up some alternate translations, but they're not much help. For now, I've posted a question on Quora asking about it. I'll update this post if anything useful comes up.

UPDATE (8/3/2018): I reflected on this more, and I think I've figured it out. I posted my reflection on Quora as well:

This was my own question, but upon some reflection, I feel like I have an answer for it. I'm going to use the version I put in the link for the translation:

'Zixia asked about filiality. The Master said, 'It is the expression on the face that is difficult. That the young should shoulder the hardest chores or that the eldest are served food and wine first at meals – whenever was that what filiality meant?''

I think that what Confucius meant was that it's not enough to just go through the motions of filiality, that is to 'shoulder the hardest chores or... the eldest are served food and wine first at meals.' The motions should be undertaken without reluctance or resentment at having to do them. That is, 'It is the expression on the face that is difficult:' The actions of filiality should not be done with a twisted expression.