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.jpg) Scene fromIllustrations of theClassic of Filial Piety (detail), depicting a son kneeling before his parents[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Chinese | 孝 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Vietnamese alphabet | hiếu | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chữ Hán | 孝 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Hangul | 효 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hanja | 孝 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Kanji | 孝 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hiragana | こう | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Filial piety is the virtue of exhibiting love and respect for one's parents, elders, and ancestors, particularly within the context ofConfucian,ChineseBuddhist, andDaoist ethics.[2] The ConfucianClassic of Filial Piety, thought to be written around the lateWarring States-Qin-Han period, has historically been the authoritative source on the Confucian tenet of filial piety. The book—a purported dialogue betweenConfucius and his studentZengzi—is about how to set up a good society using the principle of filial piety. Filial piety is central to Confucianrole ethics.
In more general terms, filial piety means to be good to one's parents; to take care of one's parents; to engage in good conduct, not just towards parents but also outside the home so as to bring a good name to one's parents and ancestors; to show love, respect, and support; to display courtesy; to ensure male heirs; to uphold fraternity among brothers; to wisely advise one's parents, including dissuading them from moral unrighteousness; to display sorrow for their sickness and death; and to bury them and carry out sacrifices after their death.[citation needed]
Filial piety is considered a key virtue inChinese and other East Asian cultures, and it is the main subject of many stories. One of the most famous collections of such stories isThe Twenty-four Cases of Filial Piety. These stories depict how children exercised their filial piety customs in the past. While China has always had a diversity of religious beliefs, the custom of filial piety has been common to almost all of them; historian Hugh D.R. Baker calls respect for the family the one element common to almost all Chinese people.[citation needed]
The western termfilial piety was originally derived from studies of Western societies, based on Mediterranean cultures.[3] However,filial piety among the ancient Romans, for example, was largely different from the Chinese in its logic and enactment.[4] Filial piety is illustrated by theChinese characterxiao (孝). The character is a combination of the characterlao (old) above the characterzi (son), that is, an elder being carried by a son.[5] This indicates that the older generation should be supported by the younger generation.[6]
InKorean Confucianism, the character孝 is pronouncedhyo (효). In Vietnamese, the character孝 is written in theVietnamese alphabet ashiếu. In Japanese, the term is generally rendered in spoken and written language as親孝行 (oyakōkō) adding the characters forparent andconduct to the Chinese character to make the word more specific.
![Illustrations of the Ladies' Classic of Filial Piety (detail), Song dynasty, depicting the section "Serving One's Parents-in-Law"[7]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aIllustrations_of_the_Ladies%2527_Classic_of_Filial_Piety.jpg)
Confucian teachings about filial piety can be found in numerous texts, including theFour Books, that is theGreat Learning (大學), theDoctrine of the Mean (中庸),Analects (論語), and the bookMencius, as well as the worksClassic of Filial Piety (孝經) and theBook of Rites (禮記).[8] In theClassic of Filial Piety,Confucius (551–479 BCE) says that "filial piety is the root of virtue and the basis of philosophy"[9] and modern philosopherFung Yu-lan describes filial piety as "the ideological basis for traditional [Chinese] society".[10]
For Confucius, filial piety is not merely a ritual outside respect to one's parents, but an inward attitude as well.[11] Filial piety consists of several aspects. Filial piety is an awareness of repaying the burden borne by one's parents.[12] As such, filial piety is done to reciprocate the care one's parents have given.[13] However, it is also practiced because of an obligation towards one's ancestors.[14][15]
According to some modern scholars,xiào is the root ofrén (仁; "benevolence, humaneness"),[16] but other scholars state thatrén, as well asyì (義; "righteousness") andli (禮; "propriety") should be interpreted as the roots ofxiào.Rén means favorable behavior to those whom we are close to.[17]Yì refers to respect to those considered worthy of respect, such as parents and superiors.Li is defined as behaving according to social norms and cultural values.[17] Moreover, it is defined in the texts asdeference, which is respectful submission, andreverence, meaning deep respect and awe.[11] Filial piety was taught by Confucius as part of a broad ideal ofself-cultivation (君子;jūnzǐ) toward being a perfect human being.[18]
Modern philosopherHu Shih argued that filial piety gained its central role in Confucian ideology only among later Confucianists. He proposed that Confucius originally taught the quality ofrén in general, and did not yet emphasizexiào as much. Only later Confucianists such asTseng Tzu focused onxiào as the single most important Confucianist quality.[10]
Confucian ethics does not regard filial piety as a choice, but rather as an unconditional obligation of the child.[19] The relationship between parents and children is the most fundamental of thefive cardinal relationships (五倫;wǔlún) described by Confucius in hisrole ethics.[20] Filial piety, together with fraternal love, underlies this system.[21] It is the fundamental principle of Confucian morality:[22] Filial piety was seen as the basis for an orderly society, together with loyalty of the ministers toward the ruler, and servitude of the wife toward the husband.[23] In short, filial piety is central to Confucian role ethics[24] and is the cardinal virtue that defines, limits, or even overrides all other virtues.[25]
According to the traditional texts, filial piety consists of physical care, love, service, respect, and obedience.[26] Children should attempt not to bring disgrace upon their parents.[27] Confucian texts such asBook of Rites give details on how filial piety should be practiced.[6] Respect is envisioned by detailed manners such as the way children salute their parents, speak to them (words and tone used), or enter and leave the room in which their parents are, as well as seating arrangements and gifts.[28] Care means making sure parents are comfortable in every single way: this involves food, accommodation, clothes, hygiene, and basically to have them "see and hear pleasurable things" (in Confucius' words)[29] and to have them live without worry.[13] But the most important expressions of, and exercises in, filial piety were the burial and mourning rituals to be held in honor of one's parents.[30][16]
Filial piety means to be good to one's parents; to take care of one's parents; to engage in good conduct not just towards parents but also outside the home so as to bring a good name to one's parents and ancestors;[31] to perform the duties of one's job well (preferably the same job as one's parents to fulfill their aspirations);[13] to carry out sacrifices to the ancestors;[32] to not be rebellious;[15] to be polite and well-mannered; to show love, respect, and support; to be near home to serve one's parents;[33] to display courtesy;[29] to ensure male heirs;[13] to uphold fraternity among brothers;[citation needed] to wisely advise one's parents, including dissuading them from moral unrighteousness;[33] to display sorrow for their sickness and death;[34] and to bury them and carry out sacrifices after their death.[35] Furthermore, a filial child should promote the public name of its family, and it should cherish the affection of its parents.[13]
Traditional texts essentially describe filial piety in terms of a son-father relationship, but in practice, it involves all parent-child relationships, as well as relationships with stepparents, grandparents, and ancestors.[36]
Filial piety also involves the role of the parent to the child. The father has a duty to provide for the son, to teach him in traditions ofancestor worship, to find a spouse for him, and to leave a good heritage.[37][36] A father is supposed to be "stern and dignified" to his children, whereas a mother is supposed to be "gentle and compassionate". The parents' virtues are to be practiced, regardless of the child's piety, and vice versa.[36] Nevertheless, filial piety mostly identified thechild's duty, and in this, it differed from the Roman concept ofpatria potestas, which defined mostly the father's authoritative power. Whereas in Roman culture, and later in the Judeo-Christian West, people in authority legitimized their influence by referring to a higher transcending power, in Chinese culture, authority was defined by the roles of the subordinates (son, subject, wife) to their superior (father, emperor, husband) and vice versa. As roles and duties were depersonalized, supremacy became a matter of role and position, rather than person, as it was in the West.[38]
AnthropologistFrancis Hsu argued that a child's obedience from a Confucian perspective was regarded as unconditional, but anthropologistDavid K. Jordan and psychologist David Yau-fai Ho disagree.[36][15] Jordan states that in classical Chinese thought, "remonstrance" was part of filial piety, meaning that a pious child needs to dissuade a parent from performing immoral actions.[36] Ho points out in this regard that the Confucian classics do not advocate "foolish filial piety" (愚孝;yúxiào).[15] However, Jordan adds that if the parent does not listen to the child's dissuasion, the child must still obey the parent,[39] and Ho states that "rebellion or outright defiance" is never approved in Confucian ethics.[15]
Filial piety not only extends to behavior of children toward their parents, but also involves gratitude toward the human body they received from their parents,[22][40] as the body is seen as an extension of one's parents.[33] This involves prohibitions on damaging or hurting the body, and this doctrine has affected how the Confucianists regarded the shaving of the head by Buddhist monks,[22] but also has created a taboo on suicide, regarded as "unfilial behavior" (不孝;bùxiào).[41]
Filial piety is regarded as a principle that ordered society, without which chaos would prevail.[23] It is described as "an inevitable fact of nature", as opposed to mere convention,[42] and it is seen to follow naturally out of the father-son relationship.[3] In the Chinese tradition of patriarchy, roles are upheld to maintain the harmony of the whole.[43] According to theNeo-Confucian philosopherCheng Hao (1032–1085 CE), relationships and their corresponding roles "belong to the eternal principle of the cosmos from which there is no escape between heaven and earth".[44]
The idea of filial piety became popular in China because of the many functions it had and many roles it undertook, as the traditional Confucian scholars such asMencius (4th century BCE) regarded the family as a fundamental unit that formed the root of the nation. Though the virtue ofxiào was about respect by children toward their parents, it was meant to regulate how the young generation behaved toward elders in the extended family and in society in general.[45][46] Furthermore, devotion to one's parents was often associated with one's devotion to the state,[note 1] described as the "parallel conception of society"[47] or the "Model of Two".[21] TheClassic of Filial Piety states that an obedient and filial son will grow up to become a loyal official (chung)—filial piety was therefore seen as a truth that shaped the citizens of the state,[23] and the loyalty of the minister to his emperor was regarded as the extension of filial piety.[48] Filial piety was regarded as being a dutiful person in general.[44]
Nevertheless, the two were not equated. Mencius teaches that ministers should overthrow an immoral tyrant, should he harm the state; the loyalty to the king was considered conditional, not as unconditional as in filial piety towards one parents.[19]
Confucian teachings about filial piety have left their mark on East Asian languages and culture. In Chinese, there is a saying that "among hundreds of behaviors, filial piety is the most important one" (百善孝为先;bǎi shàn xiào wéi xiān).[46][9]
In modern Chinese, filial piety is rendered with the wordsxiào shùn (孝顺), meaning "respect and obedience".[49] While China has always had a diversity of religious beliefs, filial piety has been common to almost all of them; historian Hugh D.R. Baker calls respect for the family the one element common to almost all Chinese people.[50] HistorianCh'ü T'ung-tsu stated about the codification of patriarchy in Chinese law that "[i]t was all a question of filial piety".[51] Filial piety also forms the basis for the veneration of the aged, for which the Chinese are known.[15][10] However, filial piety among the Chinese has led them to be mostly focused on taking care of close kin, and be less interested in wider issues of more distant people:[14][52] nevertheless, this should not be mistaken for individualism.
In Japan, devotion to kinship relations was and still is much more broadly construed, involving more than just kin.[14]
In Korean culture, filial piety is also of crucial importance.[53] However, filial piety in the laterJoseon dynasty, created a tension for women on marriage, between "filial values" and "filial emotions" during the laterJoseon dynasty, since women, on marrying, owed their filial piety to their husband's family and not to their birth family.[54] These tensions and the normative values of this neo-Confucian patrilineal and patriarchal society are evidenced inpansori and the many versions of various moral tales.[54] Books published on filial piety includeHyohaengrok (효행록) first published in late Goryeo times and revised and republished in 1428,[55] and theRegister of Loyalty and Filial Piety (1655-1788) (효행등제등록) a register of those receiving government rewards for filial piety from 1655 to 1788.[56]
In Taiwan, filial piety is considered one of eight important virtues, among which filial piety is considered supreme. It is "central in all thinking about human behavior".[9] Taiwan generally has more traditional values with regard to the parent-child relationship than the People's Republic of China (PRC). This is reflected in attitudes about how desirable it is for the elderly to live independently.[57]
Social scientists have researched filial piety and related concepts.[58] It is a highly influential factor in studies about Asian families and in intergenerational studies, as well as studies onsocialization patterns.[6] Filial piety is defined by several scholars as the recognition by children of the aid and care their parents have given them, and the respect returned by those children.[59] Psychologist K.S. Yang defined it as a "specific, complexsyndrome or set of cognition, affects, intentions, and behaviors concerning being good or nice to one's parents".[60] As of 2006[update], psychologists measured filial piety in inconsistent ways, which makes it difficult to progress.[6]
Filial piety is defined by behaviors such as daily maintenance, respect, and sickness care offered to the elderly.[58] Although in scholarly literature five forms ofreverence have been described, multi-cultural researcher Kyu-taik Sung added eight more to that, to cover the traditional definitions of elder respect in Confucian texts:[61]
| Care respect | making sure parents are comfortable in every single way |
|---|---|
| Victual respect | taking the parents' preferences into account, e.g. favorite food |
| Gift respect | giving gifts or favors, e.g. presiding meetings |
| Presentational respect | polite and appropriate decorum |
| Linguistic respect | use of honorific language |
| Spatial respect | having elders sit at a place of honor, building graves at respectful places |
| Celebrative respect | celebrating birthdays or other events in honor of elders |
| Public respect | voluntary and public services for elders |
| Acquiescent respect | listening to elders without talking back |
| Consultative respect | consulting elders in personal and family matters |
| Salutatory respect | bowing or saluting elders |
| Precedential respect | allowing elders to have priority in distributing goods and services |
| Funeral respect | mourning and burying elders in a respectful way |
| Ancestor respect | commemorating ancestors and making sacrifices for them |
These forms of respect are based onqualitative research.[62] Some of these forms involve some action or work, whereas other forms are more symbolic. Female elders tend to receive more care respect, whereas male elders tend to receive more symbolic respect.[63]
Apart from attempting to define filial piety, psychologists have also attempted to explain its cognitive development. Psychologist R.M. Lee distinguishes a five-fold development, which he bases onLawrence Kohlberg's theory ofmoral development. In the first stage, filial piety is comprehended as just the giving of material things, whereas in the second stage this develops into an understanding that emotional and spiritual support is more important. In the third stage, the child realizes that filial piety is crucial in establishing and keeping parent-child relationships; in the fourth stage, this is expanded to include relationships outside of one's family. In the final stage, filial piety is regarded as a means to realize one's ethical ideals.[64]
Psychologists have foundcorrelations[clarification needed] between filial piety and lower socio-economic status, female gender, elders, minorities, and non-westernized cultures.[citation needed] Traditional filial piety beliefs have been connected with[specify] positive outcomes for the community and society, care for elder family members, positive family relationships, and solidarity. Filial piety has also been related to[specify] an orientation to the past, resistance to cognitive change, superstition and fatalism, dogmatism, authoritarianism, conformism, a belief in the superiority of one's culture, and a lack of active, critical, and creative learning attitudes.[65] Ho connects the value of filial piety with authoritarian moralism and cognitive conservatism in Chinese patterns of socialization, basing this on findings among subjects in Hong Kong and Taiwan. He definesauthoritarian moralism as hierarchical authority ranking in family and institutions, and pervasive use of moral precepts as criteria of measuring people.Cognitive moralism he derives from social psychologistAnthony Greenwald, and is a "disposition to preserve existing knowledge structures" and resistance to change. He concludes that filial piety appears to have a negative effect on psychological development, but at the same time, partly explains the high motivation of Chinese people to achieve academic results.[66]
In family counselling research, filial piety has been seen to help establish bonding with parents.[67] Ho argues that filial piety brings along an obligation to raise one's children in a moral way to prevent disgrace to the family.[68] However, filial piety has also been found to perpetuate dysfunctional family patterns such as child abuse: there may be both positive and negative psychological effects.[69] Francis Hsu argued that pro-family attitudes informed by filial piety, when taken on the level of the family at large, can lead to nepotism and corruption, and are at tension with the good of the state as whole.[70]
In Chinese parent-child relations, the aspect of authority goes hand-in-hand with the aspect of benevolence. For example, many Chinese parents support their children's education fully and do not allow their children to work during their studies, which allows them to focus on their studies. Because of this combination of benevolence and authoritarianism in such relations, children feel obliged to respond to parents' expectations, and internalize them.[71] Ho found, however, that in Chinese parent-child relations, fear also contributed to meeting parents' filial expectations: children may not internalize their parents' expectations, but rather performroles as good children in a detached way, throughaffect-role dissociation.[72] Studying Korean family relations, scholar Dawnhee Yim argues that internalization of parents' obligations by children may lead to guilt, as well as suppression of hostile thoughts toward parents, leading to psychological problems.[73] Jordan found that despite filial piety being asymmetrical in nature, Chinese interviewees felt that filial piety contained an element of reciprocity: "...it is easy to see the parent whom one serves today as the self who is served tomorrow." Furthermore, the practice of filial piety provides the pious child with a sense of adulthood and moral heroism.[74]
The origins of filial piety in East Asia lie in ancestor worship,[16] and can already be found in the pre-Confucian period.Epigraphical findings such as oracle bones contain references to filial piety. Texts such as theClassic of Changes (10th–4th century BCE) may contain early references to the parallel conception of the filial son and the loyal minister.[75]
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In theTang dynasty (6th–10th century), not performing filial piety was declared illegal, and even earlier, during theHan dynasty (2nd century BCE–3rd century CE), this was punished by beheading.[27] Behavior regarded as unfilial such as mistreating or abandoning one's parents or grandparents, or refusing to complete the mourning period for them, was punished by exile and beating, or worse.[76]
From the Han dynasty onward, the practice of mourning rites came to be seen as the cornerstone of filial piety and was strictly practiced and enforced. This was a period of unrest, and the state promoted the practice of long-term mourning to reestablish its authority. Filial piety toward one's parents was expected to lead to loyalty to the ruler, expressed in the Han proverb "The Emperor rules all-under-heaven with filial piety".[47] Government officials were expected to take leave for a mourning period of two years after their parents died.[77] Local officials were expected to encourage filial piety to one's parents—and by extension, to the state—by behaving as an example of such piety.[78] The king himself would express filial piety in an exemplary way, through the ritual of "serving the elderly" (yang lao zhi li). Nearly all Han emperors had the wordxiào in theirtemple name.[30][79] The promotion of filial piety in this manner, as part of the idea ofli, was a less confrontational way to create order in society than resorting to law.[80]
Filial piety was a keystone of Han morality.[79]
During the early Confucian period, the principles of filial piety were brought back by Japanese and Korean students to their respective homelands, where they became central to the education system. In Japan, rulers gave awards to people deemed to practice exemplary filial conduct.[37]
During the Mongolian rule in theYuan dynasty (13th–14th century), the practice of filial piety was perceived[by whom?] to deteriorate. In theMing dynasty (14th–17th century), emperors andliterati attempted to revive the customs of filial piety. Though in that process, filial piety was reinterpreted, as rules and rituals were modified.[81] Even on the grassroots level a revival was seen, asvigilante societies started to promote Confucian values. Members of this vigilance movement composed the bookThe Twenty-four Cases of Filial Piety.[82]
Filial piety has been an important aspect ofBuddhist ethics sinceearly Buddhism,[83] and was essential in the apologetics and texts ofChinese Buddhism.[84] In theEarly Buddhist Texts such as theNikāyas andĀgamas, filial piety is prescribed and practiced in three ways: to repay the gratitude toward one's parents; as a good karma ormerit; and as a way to contribute to and sustain the social order.[85]Buddhist scriptures portray theBuddha and hisdisciples practicing filial piety toward their parents, based on the qualities of gratitude and reciprocity.[86][87]
Initially, scholars of Buddhism like Kenneth Ch'en saw Buddhist teachings on filial piety as a distinct feature of Chinese Buddhism. Later scholarship, led by people such asJohn Strong andGregory Schopen, has come to believe that filial piety was part of Buddhist doctrine since early times. Strong and Schopen providedepigraphical and textual evidence to show that early Buddhist laypeople, monks, and nuns often displayed strong devotion to their parents, and concluded that filial piety was already an important part of thedevotional life of early Buddhists.[88][89]
When Buddhism was introduced in China, it had no organized celibacy.[90]Confucianism emphasized filial piety to parents and loyalty to the emperor, and Buddhist monastic life was seen to go against its tenets.[91] In the 3rd–5th century CE, as criticism of Buddhism increased, Buddhist monastics and lay authors responded by writing about and translating Buddhist doctrines and narratives that supported filial piety, comparing them to Confucianism and thereby defending Buddhism and its value in society.[92] TheMouzi Lihuolun referred toConfucian and Daoist classics, as well as historical precedents to respond to critics of Buddhism.[93] TheMouzi stated that while on the surface the Buddhist monk seems to reject and abandon his parents, he is actually aiding his parents as well as himself on the path towards enlightenment.[94]Sun Chuo (c. 300–380) further argued that monks were working to ensure the salvation of all people and making their family proud by doing so,[94] andLiu Xie stated that Buddhists practiced filial piety bysharing merit with their departed relatives.[95] Buddhist monks were also criticized for not expressing their respect to the Chinese emperor byprostrating and other devotion, which in Confucianism was associated with the virtue of filial piety.Huiyuan (334–416) responded that although monks did not express such piety, they did pay homage in heart and mind; moreover, their teaching of morality and virtue to the public helped support imperial rule.[96][97]
From the 6th century onward, Chinese Buddhists realized they had to stress Buddhism's own particular ideas about filial piety in order for Buddhism to survive.[98]Śyāma, Sujāti, and other Buddhist stories of self-sacrifice spread a belief that a filial child should even be willing to sacrifice its own body.[99][98] TheUllambana Sūtra introduced the idea oftransfer of merit through the story ofMulian Saves His Mother and led to the establishment of theGhost Festival. By this Buddhists attempted to show that filial piety also meant taking care of one's parents in the next life, not just this life.[100] Furthermore, authors in China—and Tibet, and to some extent Japan—wrote that in Buddhism, allliving beings have once been one's parents, and that practicingcompassion to all living beings as though they were one's parents is the superior form of filial piety.[101] Another aspect emphasized was the great suffering a mother goes through when giving birth and raising a child. Chinese Buddhists described how difficult it is to repay the goodness of one's mother, and how manysins mothers committed in raising their children.[102] The mother became the primary source of well-being and indebtedness for the son, which was in contrast with pre-Buddhist perspectives emphasizing the father.[103] Nevertheless, although critics of Buddhism did not have much impact during this time, this changed in the period leading up to theNeo-Confucianist revival, when EmperorWu Zong (841–845) started theGreat Anti-Buddhist Persecution, citing lack of filial piety as one of his reasons for attacking Buddhist institutions.[104]
Filial piety is still an important value in some Asian Buddhist cultures. In China, Buddhism continued to uphold a role in state rituals and mourning rites for ancestors until late imperial times (13th–20th century).[105]Sūtras and narratives about filial piety are still widely used.[97] The Ghost Festival is still popular in many Asian countries, especially those countries which are influenced by both Buddhism and Confucianism.[106]
During the 17th century, some missionaries tried to prevent Chinese people from worshiping their ancestors. This was regarded[by whom?] as an assault on Chinese culture.[16]
During theQing dynasty, however, filial piety was redefined by theKangxi Emperor, who felt it more important that his officials were loyal to him than that they were filial sons. Civil servants were often not allowed to go on extended leave to perform mourning rituals for their parents. The parallel conception of society therefore disappeared from Chinese society.[107]
Patriarchalism and its enactment in law grew more strict in late imperial China. The duties of the obedient child were much more precisely and rigidly prescribed, to the extent that legal scholarHsu Dau-lin argued about this period that it "engendered a highly authoritarian spirit which was entirely alien to Confucius himself". The late imperial Chinese held patriarchalism high as an organizing principle of society, as laws and punishments gradually became more strict and severe.[108]
During the same time, in Japan, a classic work about filial practices was compiled, calledBiographies of Japanese Filial Children (Japanese pronunciation:Fu San Ko Shi Dan).[37]
During the rise of progressivism and communism in China in the early 20th century, Confucian values and family-centered living were discouraged by the state and intellectuals.[20] During theNew Culture Movement of 1911, Chinese intellectuals and foreign missionaries attacked the principle of filial piety, the latter considering it an obstruction of progress.[25]
In Japan, filial piety was not regarded as an obstacle to modernization, though scholars disagree about why this was so.[37] Francis Hsu believed that "the human networks through which it found concrete expressions" were different in Japan, and there never was a movement against filial piety as there was in China.[37]
The late imperial trend of increased patriarchalism made it difficult for the Chinese to build strong patrimonial groups that went beyond kin.[109] Though filial piety was practiced much in both China and Japan, the Chinese way was more limited to close kin than in Japan. When industrialization increased, filial piety was therefore criticized more in China than in Japan, because China felt it limited the way the country could meet the challenges from the West.[110] For this reason, China developed a more critical stance towards filial piety and other aspects of Confucianism than other East Asian countries, including not only Japan, but also Taiwan.[111]
In the 1950s,Mao Zedong's socialist measures led to the dissolution of family businesses and more dependence on the state; Taiwan's socialism did not go as far in state control.[112]
Ethnographic evidence from the 19th and early 20th century shows that Chinese people still very much cared for their elders, who very often lived with one or more married sons.[113]
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In 21st-century Chinese societies, filial piety expectations and practice have decreased. One cause for this is the rise of thenuclear family without much coresidence with parents. Families are becoming smaller because offamily planning and housing shortages. Other causes are individualism, the loss of status of the elderly, emigration of young people to cities, and the independence of young people and women.[114] Amplifying this trend, the number of elderly people has increased quickly.[20]
The relationship between husband and wife came to be more emphasized, and the extended family less so. Kinship ties between the husband and wife's families have become more bilateral and equal.[115] The way respect to elders is expressed is also changing. Communication with elders tends to become more reciprocal and less one-way, and kindness and courtesy is replacing obedience and subservience.[116]
In modern Chinese societies, elder care has changed. Studies show a discrepancy between parents' filial expectations and the behaviors of their children.[58] The discrepancy with regard to respect shown by the children makes elderly people especially unhappy.[58][6] Industrialization and urbanization have affected the practice of filial piety, with care being given more in financial than in personal ways.[6] As of 2009[update], care-giving of elderly people by the young had not undergone any revolutionary changes in the PRC, and family obligations still remained strong, "almost automatic".[117] Respect to elders remains a central value for East Asian people.[118]
Comparing data from the 1990s from Taiwan and the PRC, sociologist Martin Whyte concluded that the elderly in Taiwan often received less support from the government, but more assistance from their children, than in China.[119]
In PRC business culture, filial piety is decreasing in influence. As of 2003[update], western-style business practices andmanagerial style were promoted by the Chinese government to modernize the country.[120] However in Japan employees usually regard their employer as a sort of father, to which they feel obliged to express filial devotion.[121]
In some societies with large Chinese communities, legislation has been introduced to establish or uphold filial piety. In the 2000s, Singapore introduced a law that makes it an offense to refuse to support one's elderly parents; Taiwan took similar punitive measures. Hong Kong, on the other hand, attempted to influence its population by providing incentives for fulfilling their obligations. For example, certain tax allowances are given to citizens who live with their elderly parents.[122]
Some scholars argued that medieval China's reliance on governance by filial piety formed a society that was better able to prevent crime and other misconduct than societies that did so only through legal means.[80]
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