Xiàozǐ Zhuàn 孝子傳 (Sòng Gōng)
Biographies of Filial Sons, by Song Gong by 宋躬
About the work
Xiàozǐ Zhuàn 孝子傳 by Sòng Gōng 宋躬 is a jíyìběn reconstruction of a substantial lost collection of filial son biographies. The Suí Shū 隋書 bibliography records the Xiàozǐ Zhuàn of Sòng Gōng in 20 juǎn, making it the largest of the genre collections listed. The reconstruction preserves nearly 800 lines.
Tiyao
No tiyao found in source. This is a jíyìběn reconstruction.
Abstract
Sòng Gōng was a Southern Qí 南齊 official (his name is sometimes written 宋躬 or 宋恭 in different citations). His Xiàozǐ Zhuàn in 20 juǎn was the most ambitious of the medieval filial piety collections, apparently aiming at comprehensiveness. The surviving fragments cover a wide range of filial exemplars from the Hàn through the Six Dynasties, including both famous and obscure figures. The tales encompass the standard repertoire — sons who tasted medicine, lay on ice, cried blood, faced down tigers, refused office to care for aged parents — as well as rarer and more elaborate narratives.
The fragments were preserved in the Tàipíng Yùlǎn 太平御览, which used Sòng Gōng’s collection as a primary source for its own chapters on filial piety, and in the Yìwén Lèijù 藝文類聚. The text was lost after the Táng.
Translations and research
No substantial secondary literature located.