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Example research essay topic: Filial Piety In China - 1,862 words

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... l as your children we must first be faithful first to our country" This indicated that the students placed the country before their parents, which is a violation of the Confucian concept of filial piety. It also indicated that the students were willing to sacrifice their lives for the sake of democracy rather than living on to repay their parents the debt of giving them life and having brought them up, which is another violation of the Confucian concept of filial piety. However, the students also wrote, "Dear Mother and Father, I am part of this student movement because I love my country Rest assured that your son will not bring shame upon you. I will not die in disgrace...

Perhaps I will not fulfill my filial duty has been impossible to satisfy the demands of both loyalty to one's nation and filial duty to one's parents please understand why your son takes this action. " They were clearly aware of the aspect of Confucian concept of filial piety that one should not behave irresponsibly so as to maintain the reputation of one's family. From their point of view, they had a greater cause to attend to and that their parents should be proud of what they are doing for China. So, in that sense they did see themselves as unfilial. However, their Confucian concept of filial piety was not complete or rather it has been self-modified to suit their needs as they have neglected the aspect of the Confucian concept of filial piety that one should first serve one's parents in order to serve one's country. Another implication of the erosion of filial piety is the rise in juvenile delinquency. The Chinese news media reported a dramatic increase in juvenile crime and that juvenile delinquency accounts for nearly 70 % of all crime in China.

In fact, juvenile delinquency has increased more than ten times since the early 1960 's. Although this can be attributed to many factors, I believe that the erosion of filial piety is one of the major causes. The emergence of any form of juvenile delinquency can be seen as double failure of if incorrect thought and incorrect behaviour. This is true in the context of Confucianism as Confucian ideology establishes that people should be obedient to their parents and to the state, and that people should seek to maintain harmony in their families and in society. From that point of view, it could also be the lack of authority on the part of the parents and the lack of obedience and respect for their parents on the part of the children that contributed to the rise in juvenile delinquency. Does filial piety still exist in China today?

I will say that it does, only that it has greatly deviated from the traditional Confucian ideology of filial piety. Its importance has decreased substantially as it has been modified to suit the lifestyles of the people in China and young adults have a somewhat larger say over their own lives. This can be seen in the diminishing role of parents as the decision-maker in the choice of their children's marriage partner. In the Chinese tradition, parents play the dominant role in the selection of a suitable marriage partner for their children. In today's Chinese society, more than 80 % of young married couples met their marriage partners through their own social circles. Furthermore, a very high proportion of young married couples prefer to live apart from their parents.

However, survey results also show that a large majority of young couples sought and respected their parents' view of their marriage. Married couples also tended to maintain close ties with their parents even if they are not living with them. In addition to that, children generally consulted with their parents whenever they faced difficulties in their lives. Today, the relationship between parents and children is still one of respect, but it is definitely a far cry from the kind of parent-child relationship that used to exist in traditional Chinese societies. As parents do not play the dominating role in their children's lives anymore, their control over their children is somewhat limited. On the other hand, parents in China today are comfortable with their children having more autonomy.

Therefore, parent-child relations are not as formal as they used to be. There is stronger affection between parents and children, and less authority and obedience. Today's definition of filial piety seem to be more of one that is of genuine care and concern for one's parents, not one that was enforced by the legal and social structures or one that was out of obligation. As Chinese society is undergoing drastic change, the question is whether the doctrine of filial piety is one that is worth preserving and utilized in the exchange of cultures between the east and the west. This question is of utmost importance, as it seems that filial piety is in a very clear danger of extinction. One of the reasons why filial piety would be a valuable trait to be adopted in the west is that societies in western countries such as the United States are desperately in need of a value that entails better treatment of the elderly and greater family cohesion.

Many social problems that exist in the United States today can be linked to the lack of such values. In fact, filial piety can be looked at as the affirmation of affection for human life and society, and it could serve as a consolidating factor of society. Another reason why filial piety should be preserved is that it has been the core of Chinese societies for thousands of years, it would be equivalent to the extinction of the Chinese language if this value were allowed to just erode till it ceases to exist. Subscribing to the school of thought that the Chinese were a cultural identity before they were a nationality, the Chinese do not deserve being called the Chinese anymore if they were no longer filial sons and daughters. From my point of view, filial piety serves more good than it does harm. As China approaches an age that is very focused on technology and consumerism, it sometimes seems to me that the Chinese are becoming more self-centred, materialistic and impersonal.

Perhaps with the re instillation if the importance of filial piety, China could once again gain the respect of the world and re-emerge as the world power that it rightfully should be. From a personal point of view, having grown up in a Chinese family, albeit not a traditional one, has ingrained the concept of filial piety deeply in me and it is as natural to me as breathing, even though filial piety was a virtue that was never spoken of explicitly in my family. I would never be able to explain where and how I absorbed it. All in I know is that it is the determinant of my "chinese ness." Bibliography: Bibliography Primary Sources: 1.

Niu-Niu (1994), No Tears for Mao: Growing up in the Cultural Revolution, Academy Chicago Publishers, Chicago 2. Legge, James (1891), The Chinese Classics, John B. Alden (Publisher), New York Secondary Sources (Books): 1. Barry, Theodore de, Chan, Wing-Tsit & Watson, Burton (1960), Sources of Chinese Tradition, Columbia University Press, New York 2. Calhoun, Craig (1994), Neither Gods nor Emperors - Students and the Strugglers for Democracy in China, University of California Press, California 3. Chan, Wing-Tsit (1967), "Chinese Theory and Practice with Special Reference to Humanism", in Charles A.

Moore (ed), The Chinese Mind - Essentials of Chinese Philosophy and Culture, East-West Center Press, University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu 4. Chow, Tse-Tung (1960), The May Fourth Movement, Stanford University Press, Stanford, California 5. Chu, Godwin C. & Ju, Yanan (1993), The Great Wall in Ruins, State University of New York Press, Albany 6. Feng, Jicai (1996), "Confessional", Ten Years of Madness: Oral Histories of China's Cultural Revolution, China Books & Periodicals Inc. , San Francisco 7. Grant, Geoffrey (1989), "The Family and Social Control: Traditional and Modern", in Troyer, R. and Clark, J.

and Rojek, D. (ed), Social Control in the People's Republic of China, Praeger Publishers, New York 8. Hsieh, Yu-Wei (1967), " Filial Piety and Chinese Society", in Charles A. Moore (ed), The Chinese Mind - Essentials of Chinese Philosophy and Culture, East-West Center Press, University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu 9. Jing, Lin, (1991), "Educational Factors", The Red Guards' Path to Violence: Political, Educational and Psychological Factors, Praeger Publishers, New York 10. Kinney, Anne Behnke (ed) (1995), "Dyed Silk", Chinese Views of Childhood, University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu 11. Lee, Peter King Hung (1974), Key Intellectual Issues Arising from the May Fourth Movement in China, Ann Arbor (Publisher), University Microfilms International, Michigan 12.

Levy, Marion J. Jr. (1963), The Family Revolution in Modern China, Octagon Books Inc. , New York 13. Lu, XinHua (1979), "The Wounded" in Lu Xin Hua et. al. , The Wounded: New Stories of the Cultural Revolution, Joint Publishing Co. , Hong Kong 14. Luther, Mark (1995), "Revolutionary Little Red Devils: The Psychology of Rebel Youth", in Anne Behnke Kinney (ed) Chinese Views of Childhood, University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu 15. Mather, Richard B. (1995), "Filial Paragons and Spoilt Brats", in Anne Behnke Kinney (ed) Chinese Views of Childhood, University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu 16.

Rojek, Dean G. (1989), "Confucianism, Maoism, and the Coming of Delinquency to China", in Troyer, R. and Clark, J. and Rojek, D. (ed), Social Control in the People's Republic of China, Praeger Publishers, New York 17. Scott, J. W.

Robertson (1990), The People of China, Methuen & Co. , London 18. Stacey, Judith, (1983), Patriarchy and Socialist Revolution in China, University of California Press, Berkeley, California 19. Unger, Jonathon (1993), "Urban Families in the Eighties", in Deborah Davis & Stevan Harry (ed), Chinese Families in the Post-Mao Era, University of California Press, Berkeley, California 20. Wang Liu Hui-Chen (1959), "Chinese Clan Rules", in Arthur F. Wright (ed), Confucianism and Chinese Civilization, Stanford University Press, Stanford, California 21. Wen, China (1995), The Red Mirror: Children of China's Cultural Revolution, West View Press, Colorado 22.

Wu, Laurence C. (1986), Fundamentals of Chinese Philosophy, University Press of America, New York 23. Wu, Hung (1995), "Private Love and Public Duty" in Anne Behnke Kinney (ed) Chinese Views of Childhood, University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu 24. Young, Graham (1985), China - Dilemmas of Modernization, Croom Helm, London 25. Zang, Xiaowei (1999) "Family, Kinship, Marriage and Sexuality", in Robert E. Gamer (ed) Understanding Contemporary China, Lynne Render Publishers, Boulder, Colorado 26.

Zi, Jin & Qin, Zhou (1989), June Four - A Chronicle of the Chinese Democratic Uprising, The University of Arkansas Press, Arkansas Secondary Sources (Articles): 1. Rothbaum, Fred & Xu, Xiaofang (1995), "The Theme of Giving Back to Parents in Chinese and American Songs", Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, vol. 26, no. 6, pp. 698 - 699 2. Rock, Paul (1990), "Patriarchy, Patrimonialism, and Filial Piety: A Comparison of China and Western Europe", British Journal of Sociology, vol. 41, pp. 77 - 104 3. Healy, Tim (1999), "Is an End to the Family Ahead?" , Asia week 20 / 27 August, web


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Research essay sample on Filial Piety In China

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