Dong Yong

Japanese: 董永 - とうえい

He is the protagonist of a legend about a filial son that originated in the Han dynasty in China. He is said to have been a native of Qianzhong, Shandong Province. Having lost his mother at an early age, Dong Yong was devoted to his filial piety, and when his father died, he became a slave to a wealthy man because he was unable to pay for his burial. Moved by his filial piety, the heavens sent down the star Weaver Maiden to be his wife, and she redeemed her husband by weaving cloth before returning to heaven. This is a variation of the tale of the Swan Maiden, and appears in the Han dynasty's "Biography of the Filial Son" by Liu Xiang and the Jin dynasty's "Soushenji" Volume 1, and was also included in the "Mengqiu" as "Dong Yong Sells Himself," and was remembered by ancient intellectuals.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

中国，漢代に発生した孝子伝説の主人公。山東省千乗の人とされる。早くに母を失った董永は，ひたすら父に孝養をつくし，その父が死んだとき，埋葬費に窮して長者の奴隷となる。その孝心に感じた天は，織女星を下して妻とし，彼女は織布の功で夫の身を償うと天界に帰ってゆく。白鳥処女説話の変型したもので，漢の劉向（りゆうきよう）《孝子伝》や晋の干宝《捜神記》巻一などにみえ，《蒙求（もうぎゆう）》にも〈董永自売〉として収められ，古代のインテリたちに記憶された。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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