Ziyou asks filial piety. Confucius said, "Today's filial piety means that it can support. As for dogs and horses, you can keep them. Disrespect, why not? "
To annotate ...
① Ziyou-a disciple of Confucius, surnamed Yan, named Yan, Ziyou, 45 years younger than Confucius.
(2) support-support, support.
As for dogs and horses, you can keep them. Disrespect, why not? -There are two solutions. First of all, people think that dogs that look after the house and horses that work for others can support people. But dogs and horses are ignorant and will not respect people. If people only support their parents without respect, what is the difference between them and dogs and horses? This is a comparison between human adoptive parents and dogs and horses. Secondly, people also feed dogs and horses. If they only support their parents and don't respect them, what's the difference between them and dogs and horses? This is the contrast between human adoptive parents and human dogs and horses.
Modern translation of the original text
Ziyou asked how to be filial. Confucius said: "Nowadays, people think that filial piety is to support parents. Even domestic animals such as dogs and horses can be raised. If you are disrespectful to your parents, what is the difference between supporting your parents and raising dogs and horses? "