Note 2 — Chapter I · AFTER SIXTY—WHAT?

The reverence shown aged persons is clearly illustrated from the following incident given by Dewey & Tufts in their “Ethics” (pp 17–18):

“A Chinese aided by his wife flogged his mother. The imperial order not only commanded that the criminals should be put to death; it further directed that the head of the clan should be put to death, that the immediate neighbours each receive eighty blows and be sent into exile; that the head or representatives of the graduates of the first degree (or B. A.) among whom the male offender ranked should be flogged and exiled; that the granduncle, the uncle, and two elder brothers should be put to death; that the prefect and the rulers should for a time be deprived of their rank; that on the face of the mother of the female offender four Chinese characters expressive of neglect of duty toward her daughter should be tattooed, and that she be exiled to a distant province; that the father of the female offender, a bachelor of arts, should not be allowed to take any higher literary degrees, and that he be flogged and exiled; that the son of the offenders should receive another name, and that the lands of the offenders for a time remain fallow.”