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Yating Yang

In a bizarre and gruesome blend of medical belief and extreme filial devotion, many people throughout Chinese history cut flesh from their own thighs to heal sick relatives.
The custom later evolved into a government-endorsed trend, turning the practice into a path to social mobility and marital success.
Ge gu liao qin, which literally means “cutting one’s own flesh to heal a parent”, refers to an ancient practice in which a child would cut flesh from their own thigh to use as medicine to treat a parent’s illness, as an extreme expression of traditional filial piety.
The individual being treated could be a person’s parents, parents-in-law or even a husband.

Before the advent of antibiotics, many illnesses could become death sentences.
When medicine proved ineffective, some people, in a desperate search for a cure, regarded “cutting flesh from their thigh” as the ultimate act of repaying one’s parents with one’s own body.
They believed that offering their own flesh and blood in exchange for a parent’s life showed the utmost sincerity and extremity of filial devotion.
For example, before antibiotics were invented, tuberculosis was a fatal chronic disease and consuming meat was considered one form of treatment.
Since ordinary people often lacked access to animal meat during times of famine or war, filial children would cut flesh from their own bodies as a substitute.

This is also why the practice first emerged among the lower classes of society.
The practice dates back to the pre-Qin period and became more widespread after the Tang dynasty (618-907), when such acts could even be rewarded with official titles or tax exemptions.
During the Tang dynasty, a man named Wang Zhidao from Taiyuan, in northern China’s Shanxi province, reportedly cut roughly 250 grams of flesh from his thigh to cook for his mother, who was suffering from tuberculosis.
After eating the dish, she recovered.
To conceal the truth, Wang pretended to be bedridden with another illness so that his mother would not discover what he had done.
When Emperor Xuanzong later learned of Wang’s deed, he granted him an official position in recognition of his filial devotion.

Before the Song dynasty (960-1279), those who engaged in flesh-cutting to cure relatives were primarily men. However, beginning in the Song period, increasing numbers of women took part in the practice.
Influenced by marital norms that required a woman to obey her husband after marriage, the main recipients of such acts were often her parents-in-law, followed by her own parents and in some cases even her husband.
In many cases, the sick family member consumed the flesh without being informed so as to avoid ethical taboos.
Historical records indicate that although this method offered no guaranteed medical benefit, women in the Song dynasty adopted it for two key reasons.
First, there was a perceived possibility that it might work; second, they believed that extreme acts of filial devotion could move the gods to grant their wishes.
Women who showed extraordinary filial piety were sometimes awarded honorary titles, given material rewards or granted tax exemptions.

These incentives contributed to a surge in such cases, and these women were celebrated as models of filial daughters and daughters-in-law, further fuelling the trend of the practice in the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1912) dynasties.
During the Ming dynasty, such acts continued to be praised, and women known for this form of filial piety could often marry into a higher social class, with some even entering elite families.
The practice continued into the Republican era (1912-1949).
However, with the advancement of modern medicine and scientific research, it gradually faded and largely disappeared after the founding of the People’s Republic of China.


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Why ancient Chinese folk custom involved cutting thigh flesh to feed sick relatives

In ancient China, a traditional folk practice involved individuals self-mutilating by cutting flesh from their thighs to treat the illnesses of close relatives, demonstrating deep filial piety. Photo: SCMP composite/Sohu/Baidu

A painting depicts what such an act of extreme filial piety may have looked like in ancient times. Photo: Handout

An actor dressed in costume playing a role from centuries ago. The flesh-eating practice began before the advent of modern medicine. Photo: Handout

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People & Culture

Extreme act of filial devotion saw raw flesh cooked for human consumption; eventually act was rewarded with tax relief, official titles


Extreme act of filial devotion saw raw flesh cooked for human consumption; eventually act was rewarded with tax relief, official titles.


Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM)

Why ancient Chinese folk custom involved cutting thigh flesh to feed sick relatives

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Extreme act of filial devotion saw raw flesh cooked for human consumption; eventually act was rewarded with tax relief, official titles

Extreme act of filial devotion saw raw flesh cooked for human consumption; eventually act was rewarded with tax relief, official titles