Filial Piety: An Important Chinese Cultural Value (2019)

1 squircle 2 6/19/2025, 4:15:11 PM thoughtco.com ↗

Comments (2)

bigyabai · 5h ago
Many of the Chinese expats I've talked to cite this as one of the primary suffocating factors in Chinese society today. Want a girlfriend? Grandma picks who you're dating. Want a child? Grandpa decides your due date. Trying to attend higher education? Your parents might disown you for not starting a family instead.

There are pros and cons to filial relations like this, but my understanding is that it's pushed to it's logical conclusions in much of China. One of my childhood friends from China called his parents "the ball and chain" around other people.

squircle · 1h ago
Oh, for sure. Is there not a significant difference between willingly adopting these values and being compelled to adopt them by an external force?