China Family Past and Present

FAMILY
Past and Present

at China
PhD Student: Le Quang Nhan

Chinese Family:
Overview

• Family has played a central role in Chinese culture for a long
time.
• fundamental unit in Chinese society, also has the task of
transmitting values and maintaining social order.”
• Family provided the model for society – regarded as one
massive family
• family relationships predominated in over all other kind of
• the group produces the personnel to man the wider institutions
Family in the past
Chinese families often have expansive structures, many
generations living under the same roof.
Men act as the head of the family, and filial piety and respect for
elders are very important.
The pre-modern Chinese family structure emphasizes two things.
The nature of internal tensions
The relationship between the family and wider society
Ideal family: Poor families:
The family had many relatives, imbued less Confucianism

with Confucian ritual values. The father has no power
Many generations live under one roof. There is no voice to rally external
The family is economically powerful and relationships
directive over others. • Little possession
• Considered a family of economic-
political corporations with a lot of
power
Pre-modern family Pre-modern Chinese family - influenced features of the
Western experience of family life.
Society industrialized, the family was only a small
population - minimizing the function associated with
family life
Marriage is the place of production, the person who
nurtures it becomes a useful conduit. Children must be
linked to their parents before they are linked to society.
In 1953, the Civil Law. "The elderly must be taken care of
by their children and grandchildren, the young must be
respected, there must be harmony between husband and
wife."
The communist regime took advantage of the hunger for
land to bind the masses to a land reform revolution,
thereby winning their loyalty from tensions in complex
families.
• From the Optimum Family – The Prussian Family
Male and female roles in family
The change in social status promotes a change in family
structure
The relationship between the sexes, between patriarchal
generations depends on differences in family structure.
High-status families: Women are always at a disadvantage—in
all aspects of society and other values
Loved but a temporary member
The marriage formally severed economic value and
membership from the family and transferred to her husband's
family.
For the Confucian husband - brotherly unity.
Mother-in-law and daughter-in-law
Low-status families:
Simpler structure - mold formation
Father's control is weaker
Family urbanization
"The traditional family still exists in urban environments, but the influence of
urbanization has led to the nuclear family being more common."
The 1911 Network, Changes in Thought and Law on Intellectuals' Preoccupation
with Matters of Family Reform.
Optimum family:
Women get married, men start their own families - support themselves.
When there are several children, parents live with each one in turn for the
specified period of time
The law on family life was born but was considered less revolutionary and quite
conservative
Example: 1919 man sells wife - the supreme court ruled that buying a woman for
the express purpose of bearing children is justified."
establishing balance with men's rights (property, divorce, marriage)
The monogamous mode is established. However, the patriarchy still exists
The civil and penal codes still maintain the traditional solidarity between close
relatives.
In 1949, the new Chinese state was established, and many family problems
improved
Marriage is a free contract between individuals, which can end at the will of each
party.
• The balance of rights of men and women between matters of property, shelter,
work, control of children.
Family relations Family dominance tied power to the eldest man in the
family
Family as a social group and kinship
Family: family life, children marriage, cohabitation,
participation in family activities together
Kinship: Relationships outside one's family, bound by
rights and obligations to those involved through blood
ties, marriage.
Confucianism emphasized the complexity of the
family and the legal power given to the head of the
family to prevent the breakdown of the general system.
"In the past, family ties were particularly important,
with the clear roles of mother, father and child.
However, in the modern family, family members can
have a freer relationship."
Conclusion:
From the past to the present, the Chinese family has undergone significant change. Family structure, male and
female roles, family relations and inheritance of wealth have all been influenced by social and cultural factors."
• "Currently, the small nuclear family is becoming more common, with fewer generations living together. In
addition, the strengthening of gender equality and individual freedoms has contributed to changing the way
families operate."
Questions and discussions

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FAMILY

Past and Present

PhD Student: Le Quang Nhan

Ideal family: Poor families:

The family had many relatives, imbued less Confucianism

Questions and discussions

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