The Woodcutter Zeng Shen (Sōshin) Hurrying Home to His Mother Who Had Bitten Her Finger in Irritation at His Absence to Call Him Home, from the series A Mirror for Children of the Twenty-four Paragons of Filial Piety

Zēng Shēn 曾參, Sōshin in Japanese, was a direct student of Confucius and an important transmitter of his teachings. He was also very famous for his filial piety, which included a mystical connection to his mother. One day when he was in the forest gathering firewood, visitors came to see his mother, and she needed Zēng Shēn’s assistance. Knowing of his devotion to her, she bit her own finger. He felt a sharp pain in his heart and rushed home to help her. In the print, we see Zēng Shēn’s mother in the lower left, her finger extended. He is in the background, rushing across the bridge with a large bundle of firewood.

The bridge and buildings, however, are not in the style of ancient Chinese structures, but clearly based on European models. Note the use of shading and the one-point perspective that creates a sense of depth, also carefully copied from the source print.