This story embodies old-school Asian views on filial piety (孝顺), or the virtue of honoring one’s parents. The story focuses on the protagonist Boyu (伯俞), who maintains deep love and respect for his mother, though she physically abuses him on the regular.
从前，有一个人叫伯俞，他非常孝顺父母。
伯俞小时候，每次做错事，妈妈就会用棍子打他。他觉得很疼，但是他从来不哭，也不生气，因为他知道妈妈是为了他好。
有一天，伯俞又做错了一件事。妈妈像以前一样，拿起棍子打他。可是这一次，伯俞突然哭了起来。
妈妈感到很奇怪，问他：”你以前被打的时候从来不哭。今天为什么哭了？是不是太疼了？”
伯俞摇摇头，说：”妈妈，以前您打我的时候，我觉得很疼。那说明您的身体很健康，很有力气。可是今天，我感觉您打我没有以前那么有力气了。这说明您老了，身体没有以前好了。我不是因为疼才哭，我是因为担心您才哭的。”
妈妈听了，心里非常感动，眼睛里也流出了泪水。
这个故事告诉我们，真正孝顺的人，不只是听父母的话，更要关心父母的健康，在意父母是否幸福。
Hover a word for its pinyin & meaning; click to pin it.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 孝顺 | xiàoshùn | filial, to show filial piety |
| 棍子 | gùnzi | stick, rod |
| 奇怪 | qíguài | strange, puzzled |
| 力气 | lìqi | strength, physical power |
| 担心 | dānxīn | to worry, to be concerned |
| 感动 | gǎndòng | to be moved, touched emotionally |
| 泪水 | lèishuǐ | tears |
| 幸福 | xìngfú | happiness, well-being |
| 从前 | cóng qián | previously; formerly; once upon a time |
| 有 | yǒu | to have; there is; (bound form) having; with; -ful; -ed; -al (as in 有意[you3 yi4] intentional) |
| 一个人 | yī gè rén | by oneself (without assistance); alone (without company) |
| 叫 | jiào | to shout; to call; to order; to ask; to be called; by (indicates agent in the passive mood); variant of 叫[jiao4] |
| 伯 | bō | uncle; the eldest among brothers; (honorific) count |
| 俞 | Yú | surname Yu |
| 他 | tā | (third-person singular) (since the early 20th century, usu. male) he; him; his; (bound form) other; another; some other (as in 他日[ta1 ri4] and 他人[ta1 ren2]) |
| 非常 | fēi cháng | very; really; unusual; extraordinary |
| 父母 | fù mǔ | father and mother; parents |
| 小时 | xiǎo shí | hour; CL:個|个[ge4] |
| 候 | hòu | to wait; to inquire after; to watch; season; climate; (old) period of five days |
| 每次 | měi cì | every time |
| 做 | zuò | to make; to produce; to write; to compose; to do; to engage in; to hold (a party etc); (of a person) to be (an intermediary, a good student etc); to become (husband and wife, frien… |
| 错 | Cuò | surname Cuo |
| 事 | shì | matter; thing; item; work; affair; CL:件[jian4],樁|桩[zhuang1],回[hui2] |
| 妈妈 | mā ma | mama; mommy; mother; CL:個|个[ge4],位[wei4] |
| 就 | jìu | (after a suppositional clause) in that case; then; (after a clause of action) as soon as; immediately after; (same as 就是[jiu4 shi4]) merely; nothing else but; simply; just; precise… |
| 会 | huì | can; to have the skill; to know how to; to be likely to; to be sure to; to meet; to get together; meeting; gathering; (suffix) union; group; association; (bound form) a moment (Tai… |
| 用 | yòng | to use; to make use of; to employ; (coverb) with; using; to need; to have to (usu. used in the negative or in questions); usefulness; utility; (bound form) expense; outlay; (courte… |
| 打 | dá | (loanword) dozen; Taiwan pr. [da3] |
| 觉得 | jué de | to think that ...; to feel that ...; to feel (uncomfortable etc) |
| 很 | hěn | very; quite; (also, often used before an adjective without intensifying its meaning, i.e. as a meaningless syntactic element) |
| 疼 | téng | (it) hurts; sore; to love dearly |
| 但 | dàn | but; yet; however; still; merely; only; just |
| 是 | shì | to be (followed by substantives only); correct; right; true; (respectful acknowledgement of a command) very well; (adverb for emphatic assertion); variant of 是[shi4] |
| 从 | cóng | variant of 從|从[cong2]; surname Cong |
| 来 | lái | to come; (used as a substitute for a more specific verb); hither (directional complement for motion toward the speaker, as in 回來|回来[hui2 lai5]); ever since (as in 自古以來|自古以来[zi4 gu3… |
| 不 | bù | no; not so; (bound form) not; un- |
| 哭 | kū | to cry; to weep |
| 也 | Yě | surname Ye |
| 生气 | shēng qì | to get angry; to be furious; vitality; liveliness |
| 因为 | yīn wèi | because; owing to; on account of |
| 知道 | zhī dào | to know; to become aware of; also pr. [zhi1dao5] |
| 为了 | wèi le | for; for the purpose of; in order to |
| 好 | hǎo | good; appropriate; proper; all right!; (before a verb) easy to; (before a verb) good to; (before an adjective for exclamatory effect) so; (verb complement indicating completion); (… |
| 一 | yī | one; single; a (article); as soon as; entire; whole; all; throughout; "one" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 1); also pr. [yao1] for greater clarity when spelling out … |
| 天 | tiān | day; sky; heaven |
| 又 | yòu | (once) again; also; both... and...; and yet; (used for emphasis) anyway |
| 了 | le | (completed action marker); (modal particle indicating change of state, situation now); (modal particle intensifying preceding clause); (bound form) clear in one's mind; to understand clearly |
| 件 | jiàn | item; component; classifier for events, things, clothes etc |
| 像 | xiàng | to resemble; to be like; to look as if; such as; appearance; image; portrait; image under a mapping (math.) |
| 以前 | yǐ qián | before; formerly; previous; ago |
| 样 | yàng | manner; pattern; way; appearance; shape; classifier: kind, type |
| 拿起 | ná qǐ | to pick up |
| 可是 | kě shì | but; however; (used for emphasis) indeed |
| 这 | zhè | (pronoun) this; these; (bound form) this; the (followed by a noun); (bound form) this; these (followed by a classifier) (in this sense, commonly pr. [zhei4], esp. in Beijing) |
| 一次 | yī cì | first; first time; once; (math.) linear (of degree one) |
| 突然 | tū rán | sudden; abrupt; unexpected |
| 起 | qǐ | to rise; to raise; to get up; to set out; to start; to appear; to launch; to initiate (action); to draft; to establish; to get (from a depot or counter); verb suffix, to start; sta… |
| 感 | gǎn | to feel; to move; to touch; to affect; feeling; emotion; (suffix) sense of ~ |
| 到 | dào | to reach; to arrive; to leave for; to go to; to (a place); until (a time); up to (a point); (verb complement indicating arriving at a place or reaching a point); considerate; thoug… |
| 问 | wèn | to ask; to inquire |
| 你 | nǐ | you (informal, as opposed to courteous 您[nin2]); you (Note: In Taiwan, 妳 is used to address females, but in mainland China, it is not commonly used. Instead, 你 is used to address both males and females.) |
| 被 | bèi | quilt; to cover (with); (literary) to suffer (a misfortune); used to indicate passive voice (placed before the doer of the action like "by" in English passive-voice sentences, or, … |
| 打的 | dǎ dī | (coll.) to take a taxi; to go by taxi |
| 时 | shí | old variant of 時|时[shi2]; surname Shi |
| 今天 | jīn tiān | today; the present time; now |
| 为 | wéi | as (in the capacity of); to take sth as; to act as; to serve as; to behave as; to become; to be; to do; by (in the passive voice); variant of 為|为[wei2] |
| 什 | shén | what |
| 么 | má | exclamatory final particle; variant of 麼|么[me5] |
| 是不是 | shì bu shì | is or is not (used to form yes-no questions) |
| 太 | tài | highest; greatest; too (much); very; extremely |
| 摇 | yāo | to shake; to wave; to rock; to sway |
| 头 | tóu | head; hair style; the top; end; beginning or end; a stub; remnant; chief; boss; side; aspect; first; leading; classifier for pigs or livestock; CL:個|个[ge4] |
| 说 | shuì | to persuade; variant of 說|说[shuo1] |
| 您 | nín | you (courteous, as opposed to informal 你[ni3]) |
| 我 | wǒ | I; me; my |
| 的 | de | of; ~'s (possessive particle); (used after an attribute when it modifies a noun); (used at the end of a declarative sentence for emphasis); (used after a noun, verb or adjective to… |
| 那 | Nā | surname Na |
| 说明 | shuō míng | to explain; to illustrate; to indicate; to show; to prove; explanation; directions; caption; CL:個|个[ge4] |
| 身体 | shēn tǐ | the body; one's health |
| 健 | jiàn | healthy; to invigorate; to strengthen; to be good at; to be strong in |
| 康 | Kāng | surname Kang |
| 有力 | yǒu lì | powerful; forceful; vigorous |
| 气 | qì | gas; air; smell; weather; to make angry; to annoy; to get angry; vital energy; qi |
| 觉 | jiào | a nap; a sleep; CL:場|场[chang2] |
| 没有 | méi yǒu | haven't; hasn't; doesn't exist; to not have; to not be |
| 那么 | nà me | like that; in that way; to that extent; (before a number) ... or so; about ...; then; in that case |
| 老 | lǎo | prefix used before the surname of a person or a numeral indicating the order of birth of the children in a family or to indicate affection or familiarity; old (of people); venerabl… |
| 不是 | bù shì | no; is not; not |
| 才 | cái | ability; talent; sb of a certain type; a capable individual; then and only then; just now; (before an expression of quantity) only; (emphatic, esp. in contrast or correction) reall…; (variant of 才[cai2]) just now; (variant of 才[cai2]) (before an expression of quantity) only |
| 听 | yǐn | smile (archaic); to listen to; to hear; to heed; to obey; a can (loanword from English "tin"); classifier for canned beverages; to let be; to allow (Taiwan pr. [ting4]); (literary) to administer; t… |
| 心里 | xīn li | chest; heart; mind |
| 眼睛 | yǎn jing | eye; CL:隻|只[zhi1],雙|双[shuang1] |
| 里 | lǐ | variant of 裡|里[li3]; lining; interior; inside; internal; also written 裏|里[li3]; surname Li |
| 流 | líu | to flow; to disseminate; to circulate or spread; to move or drift; to degenerate; to banish or send into exile; stream of water or sth resembling one; class, rate or grade |
| 出 | chū | to go out; to come out; to arise; to occur; to produce; to yield; to go beyond; to exceed; (used after a verb to indicate an outward direction or a positive result); classifier for…; variant of 出[chu1] (classifier for plays or chapters of classical novels) |
| 这个 | zhè ge | (pronoun) this; (adjective) this |
| 故事 | gù shì | old practice |
| 告 | gào | (bound form) to say; to tell; to announce; to report; to denounce; to file a lawsuit; to sue |
| 诉 | sù | variant of 訴|诉[su4]; to complain; to sue; to tell |
| 们 | men | plural marker for pronouns, and nouns referring to individuals |
| 真正 | zhēn zhèng | genuine; real; true; really; indeed |
| 人 | rén | person; people; CL:個|个[ge4],位[wei4],名[ming2] |
| 不只 | bù zhǐ | not only; not merely |
| 的话 | de huà | if (coming after a conditional clause) |
| 更 | gēng | to change or replace; to experience; one of the five two-hour periods into which the night was formerly divided; watch (e.g. of a sentry or guard) |
| 要 | yāo | (bound form) to demand; to coerce |
| 关 | Guān | surname Guan |
| 心 | xīn | heart; mind; intention; center; core; CL:顆|颗[ke1],個|个[ge4] |
| 在 | zài | to exist; to be alive; (of sb or sth) to be (located) at; (used before a verb to indicate an action in progress) |
| 意 | yì | (bound form) idea; thought; meaning; sense; (bound form) intention; feeling; inclination; state of mind; (bound form) Italy (abbr. for 意大利[Yi4 da4 li4]) |
| 否 | fóu | to negate; not |
Long ago, there was a man named Boyu who was extremely filial to his parents.
When Boyu was young, every time he did something wrong, his mother would hit him with a stick. He felt it was very painful, but he never cried or got angry, because he knew his mother was doing it for his own good.
One day, Boyu made another mistake. His mother, as before, picked up the stick and hit him. But this time, Boyu suddenly started crying.
His mother felt very puzzled and asked him, “You never cried when you were hit before. Why are you crying today? Is it too painful?”
Boyu shook his head and said, “Mother, when you hit me before, I felt a lot of pain. That showed your body was healthy and you had a lot of strength. But today, I feel that your hits aren’t as strong as before. This shows that you have gotten old, and your body isn’t as strong as it used to be. I’m not crying because of the pain – I’m crying because I’m worried about you.”
When his mother heard this, she was deeply moved, and tears flowed from her eyes as well.
This story teaches us that the truly filial don’t just obey their parents’ words – they also care about their parents’ health and whether their parents are happy.