Most Chinese are the typical believers in old-wives’ tales and superstitions. They could elaborate with fine details to make surrealism comes to life with folklores. To believe or not is not the issue but as long as they can correlate with substantiated facts to assume they are believable.
If only they can establish an open line for communication by excluding superstitions, the minds of the young will not be too clouded with uncertainties.
However, to certain extent, superstitions help to manipulate the thought to ponder over incredulity to encourage debate. The reasons behind certain superstitions do carry weight because of the reflective effects that will never fail to amaze non-believers into acceptance.
Black is the dreaded color because it is related to mourning. The poor scavenger crow feathered in black is the cursed bird that is never welcomed. Its cawing will drive the hardcore superstitious believers up the wall.
The virtue behind the crow is seldom made known or rather it is not worth telling at all. If a crow is taken to be a curse, then I will say the human kind is worse comes to filial-piety.
Crows will flock and love to nestle in swampy areas for the easy access of food. When the chicks are hatched, the adult crows will detach from the flock. The cock will hang around to prevent predators while the crow will nourish her young with the abundant food around.
When the young are fully-fledged, they will take to the sky with its family to bond with the flock. The lifespan of a crow is about seven to eight years and if the adult crows have to call it a day, the matured young crows will, in return bring them food until life exhausted.
They will abandon the nest to start new dwelling and the cycle keeps repeating because the genes of filial-piety will never cease.
How many children today have filial-piety and are willing to protect and care for their aged parents? So, the black feathered crows are virtuous after all and the human species is the curse, so to speak.
If growing children turned to be lotus eaters and insist that their parents are obliged to be the providers because they did not ask to be born, then they should be cast to eternal damnation.
If a child grows up without an inkling of what filial-piety is about, then it is safe to state what he is learning is from what he is seeing. If his parents have one iota to show respect for filial-piety to the child’s grandparents, then the child will learn from example to reciprocate in the similar manner.
The adage: no child is too ugly and no parent is too poor, serves as the bondage for unity. After all, what misfortune befalls on a family, it is for everyone to share the load and the resilience to foster the ties rather than to complain ignorantly about life.
Abusive parents do not deserve the respect, let alone filial-piety. Irresponsible children do not deserve to be called “my children” because the disillusion is too much to bear with.
Growing old is inevitable and to be surrounded by children and grandchildren will be a blessing indeed! Similarly, when a child is born, he brings joy to those around him too.
It is in the different chapters of life that nurturing may take an ugly turn. No matter what and how many turnings and cross-roads that are laid ahead, the root that you came from must not be left forgotten.
We have to remember that we are what we eat, and at the moment of weakness to abandon your aged parents, think about the crow. There is no excuse for abandonment unless you have chosen perdition!