Changes and Continuities in China

The economic and political changes which have occurred within Chinese society over the last three generations have influenced the traditional familial culture of its citizens to an extremely high level. This influence has seen changes in cultural practices and structure, though simultaneously, the continuity of many ideas. This notion is reflected by Yan, who states that “the centripetal power of the third generation of children, who attract attention, love, and care from both their grandparents and their parents is evident of a ‘breakthrough’ in traditional Chinese family culture, due to the changing political and economic discourse” (2016, p. 245). This notion is thus supported through an analysis of Kipnis’ article (2009) ‘Education and the Governing of Child-Centered Relatedness’, Yan’s article (2016) ‘Intergenerational Intimacy and Descending Familism in Rural North China’, and Fong’s (2002) ‘Coming of Age under China’s One Child Policy’, in which cultural ideas surrounding household structure, commensality, and metaphors are able to be compared.

Culture, according to J.D. Eller (2016, p. 25), is “a great meaning system – a ‘web of significance’ in which we are suspended…(in which) the symbols of culture act like a lens, shaping the reality that is refracted through them”. This idea of a ‘great meaning system’ is visible within Fong’s article (2002), in which she details the changing meaning system and reputation of daughters and filial piety, due to the political changes of China, specifically the one-child policy. Filial piety is an extremely significant cultural concept within China, described by Fong (2002, p. 128) as a ‘salient aspect’ of China’s legacy, and is promoted by Chinese leaders through linking it to economic and political prosperity and growth. Fong (2002, p. 130), within her article, details how

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“Female singletons enjoyed unprecedented parental support, both because they had no brothers to compete with, and because they grew up in a socioeconomic system that provided daughters with the means to follow the cultural model of filial duty once reserved for sons”. Further, Fong (2002) discusses how within a survey she conducted, the parents of boys were more likely to live in a rural area, though the parents of girls in an urban area were more likely to obey the one-child policy and avoid gender favoritism, through sex selection. Fong (2002, p.131) thus concludes that this is because they understood that daughters could be as filial and economically productive as their male counterparts. To support this conclusion, Fong (2002, p. 131) identifies that most daughters born after 1979 in China did not have any brothers, which resulted in the parents’ willingness to raise a daughter to follow ‘the cultural model of filial duty once reserved for sons’. Thus, Fong (2002) has identified a shift in cultural norms in Chinese society, in which females, following the introduction of the one-child policy, experienced a transformation in cultural structure, however, simultaneously illustrates the cultural continuity of the idea of filial piety in children. Fong’s conclusions (2002) thus support Yan’s (2016, p. 245) claim that a ‘breakthrough’ in ‘traditional Chinese family culture’ occurred due to political change within Chinese society.

In order to fully evaluate Yan’s claim (2016), and to obtain a conclusion that illustrates that the shift in intergenerational relationships was a direct result of political changes, though simultaneously, is evidence of cultural continuity, a comparison between Fong (2002) and Yan’s (2016) deductions is necessary. Yan (2016), within their article ‘Intergenerational Intimacy and Descending Familism in Rural North China’ explores the changing ideas of intimacy and intergenerational values, whilst simultaneously arguing that their conclusions directly result from changes on a political level. Similar to Fong’s (2002) understanding that the one-child policy results in the development of a Chinese daughter’s reputation and social mobility, Yan (2016, p. 253) states that “the one child policy since the early 1980s has profoundly influenced the Chinese family in multiple ways, such as…the dramatically increased parental (and often grandparental as well) investment in this only child in both material and emotional terms”. Thus, Yan (2016) aligns his argument in the same way as Fong (2002), through the exploration of the heightening of parental investment in the single child, due to political changes. Yan (2016, p. 253), however, further argues how “the lasting effect of birth-control policy also made married daughters more valuable to their own parents and the patriarchal norm of filial obedience less possible”. Thus, Yan (2016) illustrates, similar to Fong (2002), that political changes have caused a transformation in cultural ideas, though further, how these ideas still remain of extreme significance to the Chinese population, and have continued despite these political shifts.

Commensality and social organization are defining cultural concepts which are evident across all societies, and, according to Ochs and Shohet (2006, p. 35) in their article ‘The Cultural Structuring of Mealtime Socialization’, commensality is an example of “socialization processes that promote continuity and change across generations”. This idea of commensality and social organization, similar to cultural structure as mentioned above, has undergone transformation due to the enforcement of political change. Though, this cultural concept remains evident within Chinese societies. This is demonstrated by Kipnis (2009) within his article ‘Education and the Governing of Child-Centered Relatedness’, in which he explores the apprehension held by rural parents for the replacement of meals by schools. In order to optimize learning time at school, a direct reflection of the value of education and its metaphorical representation of filial piety, rural schools chose to provide hot meals for their students’ lunches, instead of allowing students to return home to eat lunch with their farming parents (Kipnis 2009). Kipnis (2009) details how many parents were not happy with this arrangement. These households were near the school, and wanted their children to return home for lunch. Kipnis (2009, p. 207) however contrasts this deduction with the attitude of the children, as “the students, however, were more positive about the experience. Almost all students agreed that it was fun to eat with their classmates”. From this contrast, Kipnis (2009) was able to conclude that the apprehension held by the parents reflects the importance of commensality to that generation of Chinese society, and that as the children did not hold such negative views, it reflects an intergenerational shift in response to political changes. Kipnis’ conclusions (2009) thus support the claim made my Yan (2016), that intergenerational relationships are reflections and adaptations of the political changes in Chinese society.

These intergenerational relationships are representative of the cultural changes within the society, though combined with the changing notions of commensality, reflect the cultural notions which continue. Social organization continues to manifest in both rural and urban China, despite the interruption to mealtime socialization, and is thus an indication of cultural continuities and adaptation. This notion becomes evident through a comparison of Kipnis’ (2009) and Yan’s (2016) articles, through specifically Yan’s discussion (2016) on a new form of social organization which continues in spite of the developments outlined by Kipnis (2009) in rural China. Yan (2016) outlines in his article how over the last three decades, television and cell phones have had an immense social impact upon Chinese citizens. He argues that “television brings family members together and exposes them to the same kinds of pop culture…and cell phones enable those who leave the village to work in the cities to maintain close contact with their family members at home” (Yan 2016, p. 253). When contrasted against Kipnis’ work (2009), and his detailing of the apprehension of parents towards their children not sharing a meal with them, the use of television and mobile phones becomes a clear example of intergenerational adaptation and social organization, which has become a replacement of mealtime socialization, due to the rising significance of education. Thus, commensality and social organization becomes a clear example of a cultural concept which undergoes change due to political shifts, yet continues through its adaptation to the rising dispersal and significance of technology. Through the comparison of Kipnis (2009) and Yan’s (2016) analyses of different facets of social organization within rural and urban China, it becomes extremely clear that the intergenerational relationships adapt and change in response to political shifts, to allow for the continuation of social organization, and other cultural concepts.

A metaphor, according to Lakoff and Johnson (1980, p. 3) in their article ‘Metaphors We Live By’, is not just “a device of the poetic imagination and the rhetorical flourish”, but further, a part of a cultural and conceptual system which defines and shapes our everyday experiences and how we perceive the world. A clear example of this is the value of education within China, due to its metaphorical connection to filial piety and parental sacrifice. These concepts, upon analysis, reveal the shifting cultural interpretations of the value of education, the continuation of filial piety, and further, the influence of political laws, including the one-child policy. Kipnis (2009, p. 205), in his article, discusses the perceived importance of education in the cultivation of personhood among youth. He writes, “In modern China, the desire of the state to cultivate the quality of its population, especially its children, is often mirrored by parents and other relatives”, and further, “teachers take over much of the responsibility of raising and disciplining children from families, they teach a familial ethics of filial piety and sacrifice” (Kipnis 2009, p. 205). Kipnis (2009) highlights the importance of education in China, and further, how this is metaphorically linked to notions of filial piety and the cultivation of young people. Kipnis’ assertion (2009, p. 205) of quality is a direct result of political influence, as he argues that “in post Mao China, the continuing spread of formal education must be placed in the context of other main state intervention into intimate family life: the birth control policy…one of the tenants has been that reducing the quantity of the Chinese population would lead to, or enable, an increase in its quality”. Thus, Kipnis (2009) is illustrating the influence of political change on culture, through his identification of the metaphorical importance of education and filial piety. His connection between the one-child policy, and the subsequent metaphorical significance of quality within the singleton generation, and the cultural shift of intergenerational values, in response to political change, is evident.

The notion of a metaphorical connection between education and filial piety, and its increased significance following political change, is further evident through an analysis of Fong’s article (2002, p. 143-144), in which she explores the idea of parental sacrifice, which “induces guilt and a heightened sense of filial obligation in their children”. Through the exploration of this intergenerational relationship, and more specifically, the concept of parental sacrifice, an understanding of cultural continuation and adaptation is able to be identified. Fong (2002, p.135) discusses how a Chinese mother she interviewed had received a scholarship to study in Japan, though deferred it for a year, for the sake of her son, as it was his first year of high school. She states how she believes that “to be a good student, a child needs two parents, so that there’s always one to keep an eye on him to make sure he’s studying” (Fong 2002, p. 135) This is a clear example of parental sacrifice, and the perceived necessity of two parents to ensure good behavior, thus demonstrating the clear connection between piety and parental sacrifice. This is evident further within the stress a Chinese parents experiences due to their child’s academic performance. Fong (2002, p. 143) discusses how this ‘inflammation’, as they refer to it, affects parents of all socioeconomic levels. She writes how “when parents came down with arthritis, fatigue, diabetes, chronic pain, heart disease, respiratory ailments, or high blood pressure, they, their children, and their relatives attributed these illnesses at least partly to the physical, emotional, and economic sacrifices parents made for their children” (Fong 2002, p. 143). Fong (2002) discusses how this notion induces a sense of guilt and filial obligation in the younger generation. This creation of guilt is clearly linked to the metaphorical importance of education and piety, and is thus an example of a continuation and adaptation of culture in response to a political shift. Therefore, Fong (2002) and Kipnis (2009), when examined concurrently, demonstrate both the cultural change as a result of political shifts, seen in the introduction of the one-child policy and the subsequent ‘quality over quantity’ mentality, and further, the continuation of culture, which manifests as filial piety and parental sacrifice, demonstrating the continuing significance of education.

In conclusion, the cultural ideas of structure, commensality and socialization, and metaphors, when examined in rural and urban China, are all clear examples of the changes and continuation which occurs in response to changes in political and economic circumstances. An exploration of the intergenerational relationships and how they interact within these cultural frameworks reveals to an extremely high extent a clear ‘breakthrough’ in ‘traditional Chinese culture’, and thus strongly supports Yan’s (2016, p. 245) argument surrounding the implications of economic and political change.