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Dong Yong
A figure of Han filial-piety legend who sells himself to bury his father and is helped by a heavenly weaver to repay the debt, seen on the Wu Liang Shrine reliefs and in Soushen ji.
In lantern light and drifting smoke, a row of painted theatrical masks stands on a wooden rail beneath a glowing paper dragon lantern and hanging red lanterns; a folding screen painted with a river, a bridge and hills stands at the right, with a bronze burner and small lamps on the floor.
Also known as Dong Yong the filial son · Dong Yong of Qiancheng
- Roles
- Cultural Persona
Dong Yong is a cultural persona shaped by Han legends of filial piety. The Eastern Han Wu Liang Shrine reliefs already show him caring for his father, who rides a small cart; Cao Zhi's Lingzhi Ode sings of his poverty and the goddess who weaves for him; and the Eastern Jin Soushen ji tells how Dong Yong of Qiancheng sold himself to bury his father, then married a weaver maiden sent by Heaven who wove a hundred bolts of silk in ten days to pay his debt before rising into the sky. Later operas such as The Heavenly Match grew from this tale. This entry registers a cultural persona, not a historically verified individual.
Life and times
Dates First depicted on the Eastern Han Wu Liang Shrine reliefs; canonized in the Eastern Jin Soushen ji