A lecture delivered at an elementary school in Shuozhou, Shanxi province has triggered debate after its controversial message about filial piety went viral online.

The lecturer, Ouyang Weijian, is a self-proclaimed specialist in family education. During his lecture at Shuozhou Shiyan Elementary School on May 10, Ouyang called on students to appreciate maternal love, demanding that they endure their mothers’ wrath even if they feel the anger is groundless.

“The greatest mothers exist only in China ... They cannot vent their anger on their husbands, as they would be ignored; they cannot air their grievances on their leaders, as they would be doomed. Our poor mothers will become mentally ill if they are not allowed to let go of their pain, so they have to vent their anger on their beloved children. We should simply accept this,” said Ouyang, whose audience then burst into tears, according to a video clip circulating online.

Many netizens have criticized this message as “pathetic brainwashing,” while commentators and education experts have challenged the sincerity of the displays. Some also question the efficacy of such lectures in fostering true filial devotion.

“I attended a similar lecture when I was studying at a middle school in Heilongjiang province. Such lectures are designed to evoke students’ feelings of love for their parents, and are part of a series of workshops and ceremonies meant to cultivate gratitude among youth. The lecturers normally use incitatory remarks to draw tears from kids and parents. They then try to sell their books on so-called family education,” a netizen wrote on Sina Weibo.

In addition to the controversial content of the lecture, the Beijing Times revealed that Ouyang’s company charges 50,000 RMB for a two-hour lecture, which has inspired a movement to boycott such “pricey yet meaningless events.”

In response to the public accusations, Ouyang told the Beijing Times that his lecture is neither brainwashing nor seditious. He said the audience cried because they realized the pain they had caused their parents.

“If what's in your brain is filth and rubbish, I see no reason why we should not wash it away. The people who question my teaching don’t understand us,” said Ouyang.

This is not the first time that filial piety instruction in Chinese schools has been questioned and criticized by the public. In 2015, around 750 students participated in a gratitude ceremony at Binxin School in Shanghai. The students were forced to kneel before their parents to show their piety, and many children and parents burst into tears.

The concept of filial piety is a crucial tenet of Confucian thought, which has served as the foundation of Chinese society for thousands of years. Due to the erosion of traditional values, many Chinese schools have adopted these education methods to remind students of the importance of gratitude.

Xiong Bingqi, vice president of the 21st Century Education Research Institute, told the Beijing Times that such activities have become a mere formality, and the instruction of filial piety in schools should not be limited to such performances.