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Filial Obligation in Contemporary C hina: Evolution of the Culture‐System
Author(s) -
Qi Xiaoying
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
journal for the theory of social behaviour
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.615
H-Index - 51
eISSN - 1468-5914
pISSN - 0021-8308
DOI - 10.1111/jtsb.12052
Subject(s) - obligation , salience (neuroscience) , filial piety , theme (computing) , sociology , social psychology , context (archaeology) , moral obligation , psychology , political science , law , gender studies , history , cognitive psychology , archaeology , computer science , operating system
Family obligation, which has an exceptionally high salience in traditional C hinese society, continues to be significant in contemporary C hina. In family relations in particular sentiments and practices morphologically similar to those associated with xiao (filial piety) remains intact in so far as an enduring set of expectations concerning age‐based obligation continues to structure behavior toward others. Researchers pursuing the theme of “individualization” in C hinese society, on the other hand, argue that family obligations and filial sentiments have substantially weakened. The present paper will show that under conditions of cultural and social change in C hina filial behavior through family obligation continues to play an important role even though the conventions associated with the relevant expectations, attitudes and emotions have undergone significant change. The paper argues that the culture‐system develops not merely through an internal dynamic and that family obligation must be understood in terms of the social and material context in which it operates and the nature of the motivations and imagery of the people that practice it.