睒子本生
“睒子本生”是在印度和中国都深受欢迎的故事题材，在印度、犍陀罗地区及中国石窟、造像碑中均有出现，通常以壁画或浮雕的形式表现。故事来源于《佛说睒子经》，古印度迦夷国中有人名睒子，随盲父母居于山中，采果汲溪水供养父母。一日，国王射猎时进山误伤身披鹿皮的睒子，睒子将其一家修行之事告知国王。国王深悔，到睒子家通知其父母，父母来到河边，见睒子尸，抚尸恸哭。睒子孝感动天，天神使其复活，并使其父母复明。
敦煌石窟从北周至隋代绘有多幅睒子本生故事画，莫高窟第299窟为这一题材的代表作品。全图共包括6个情节。整幅画面的叙事从两头开始，画面中心既是故事的高潮也是故事的结尾。
中国传统二十四孝故事中的“鹿乳奉亲”，讲的是郯子为父母入山取鹿奶差点被误杀的经历，主人公的原型是中国春秋时期郯国的国君郯子和佛经记载的睒子相结合而成。孝顺父母是中国人的传统美德，睒子故事的流行，充分体现了外来佛教为适应中国本土文化特点，从原来倡导出世离家到更注重孝道的转变。
Śyāmaka Jātaka
The Śyāmaka Jātaka tale is a popular narrative theme in both India and China, appearing in various forms in Indian and Gandhara art, as well as in Chinese caves and stele, typically represented in murals or reliefs. The story originates from Śyāmaka Jātaka, which tells of a boy named Śyāmaka who lives in the mountains with his blind parents, gathering fruits and fetching water to support them. One day, while hunting, the king mistakenly shoots Śyāmaka, who is dressed in a deer skin. The dying Śyāmaka informs the king about his family's ascetic practices. The king, filled with remorse, goes to Śyāmaka's home to notify his parents. Upon arriving at the riverbank, they receive their boy’s body and weep in sorrow. Moved by Śyāmaka’s filial piety, the heavenly deities revive him and restore his parents’ sight.
The Dunhuang Caves feature numerous paintings of the Śyāmaka Jātaka tale from the Northern Zhou to the Sui dynasties, with Cave 299 being a representative work of this theme. The painting comprises six scenes in total, with the narrative starting from both ends and culminating at the center, which serves as both the climax and conclusion of the story.
Another traditional Chinese tale of filial piety, Offering Deer Milk to Parents, tells the story of Tanzi's experience of nearly being killed in the mountains while fetching deer milk for his parents. It combines the protagonist's archetype of the king of the state of Tan from the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC) with the figure of Śyāmaka as recorded in Buddhist scriptures. As a traditional virtue, filial piety is a recurring theme in China, and the popularity of the Śyāmaka tale reflects how Buddhism, as a foreign religion, adapted to Chinese cultural values.
