Filial piety, love or money? Foundation of old-age support in urban China

Liu, Jieyu

Abstract

This article explores the intertwining issues of filial obligation, material interest and emotional intimacy in driving adult children's provision of old-age support in family settings. Drawing upon multi-generational life history interviews with urban Chinese families, this article reveals how the configuration of these multiple forces is governed by the socio-economic and demographic context of a particular time. The findings dispute a lineal modernization model of transition and generational change (from past family relations structured by filial obligation to the present emotion-laden nuclear family). Instead the multi-generational analysis reveals a tightening association of multiple forces around the younger generation, intensified by the one-child demographic structure, post-Mao commercialization of urban housing and establishment of the market economy. Finally, this article highlights the role of performance in carrying out old-age support. “Surface work” is enacted in situations where tensions between conformity to public morality and private intents (emotional or material) cannot be reconciled.

Citation

Liu, J. (2023). Filial piety, love or money? Foundation of old-age support in urban China. Journal of Aging Studies, 64, 101104. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaging.2023.101104

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jan 23, 2023
• Online Publication Date: Jan 31, 2023
• Publication Date: Mar 1, 2023
• Deposit Date: Mar 7, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Mar 7, 2023
• Journal: Journal of Aging Studies
• Print ISSN: 0890-4065
• Electronic ISSN: 1879-193X
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 64
• Pages: 101104
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaging.2023.101104
• Keywords: Intimacy, Materiality, Filial piety, Aging, Generation, Gender, Life history research
• Publisher URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0890406523000051
• Additional Information: Data Access Statement : The data that has been used is confidential.