'Ask a Laobeijing' is a regular series where we chat with a laoren about their thoughts on different issues. This month, we met Li, 44, outside Yonghegong.
Is filial piety less important in today’s China? And is that necessarily a bad thing?
Filial piety is an essential part of Chinese society. In fact, there is a Chinese idiom [baishanxiaoweixian] which states that respect for your elders is the most important virtue.
You can see that filial piety is still important by looking at online comments left on news articles about people who’ve mistreated their parents. They all criticize the misbehaving children.
It’s true, though – modern life has changed people’s situations. It’s not as simple any more; young people want to travel, live and work overseas and be more independent. Life in China is so different. It’s developed very quickly and, for many, it’s fast-paced and tiring. Most parents understand this. They don’t want their children to feel pressured about their choices. So, as long as they are OK and in good health, some parents allow their kids to leave.
But the idea of filial piety is still deeply ingrained in China. Of course parents would actually prefer their children to stay at home, or in the same city, but what can they do? The reality is that children can’t always be by their parents’ sides, though they are definitely still expected to come back whenever their elders need them.
In the past, filial piety was about sharing family happiness. The ideal was that parents would bear witness to multiple generations in their lifetime. So, people wanted their child to have children as early as possible. It would be even better if their grandchildren were also to have kids – great grandchildren!
But now because the times have changed, parents are finding that they can’t dictate their children’s futures as much. People aren’t marrying at such a young age, despite their parents’ wishes.
The extent of filial piety differs in other countries and cultures. The way we view it in China is not necessarily better or worse – it’s simply an important principle that has been held for a long time.
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