Importance of Chinese Family Setup and Role of Children - Essay Example

Interview 31-01-12 Interview Chinese Culture: Chinese culture defines family as being a reflectionof a setup having a unitary functional objective. All family members have high mutual attachment which inevitably is the underlying reason for the immense strength of family ties. Moreover, the tight connection between the members of a family is essential in maintaining tolerance and minimizes the emergence of conflicting behaviors. Thus, tight family ties play an essential role in disciplining and molding defiant behavior. Despite rapidly changing Chinese social values, the foundation of family setup still is based on strong interactive ties and tremendous mutual attachment between the members. (Chu et al 2010). Importance of Chinese family setup: The importance of the setup is mirrored by the solidarity of a typical Chinese family. The deep mutual attachment is ingrained among the members, which is important for minimizing the cost of conflicts which may arise due to difference in objectives and other domestic issues. Therefore, the setup is responsible for the high degree of mutual attachment exhibited by all members of a typical traditional Chinese family. However, the demographic transitions and rapid economic development has exerted a negative strain which has resulted in diminished traditional family features. The retreat in traditional Chinese family features has resulted in an accelerating divorce rate, diminished influence of kin group and reduced parental control over married children. On the other hand, the influence of demographic transitions and economic development has helped the establishment of certain positive features such as reduced prevalence of bride price and dowry and has ensured the provision of women’s rights and social values. (Chu et al 2010). Role of Children: The role of children in a typical setup is to learn and follow the traditional features of a Chinese family. With the advent of globalization, Children are now expected to seek and utilize various educational opportunities. Children are more frequently required to seek overseas education which enables them to play an important role in prosperity of family business or in availing other business opportunities. The children play an essential role in the integrity and continuing family existence by following the footsteps of their parents. In most instances, children are raised without close association with their fathers’ and this transnational family arrangement puts a great strain on the mothers to mould their children in such a way that they are better able to adapt to the internal as well as external environment of a society. (Maher et al 2009). Family decisions: As the whole family is deeply entwined in mutual love and respect, the family decisions are taken with mutual consent. Important family decisions are taken by the head of the family i.e. the father or the eldest son. Decisions involving matters of transfers are undertaken by the head of the family. On the other hand, the tighter the family ties the lesser the chances are of the emergence of conflicting objectives. Decisions involving the education of children are solely the responsibility of their fathers and are taken upon mutual consent with all the other members. Typical traditional features of a Chinese family ensured parental control over their children even after they are marriages. This parental control has diminished over time. Moreover, it has been observed that there has been an increase in the number of children making their own educational decisions regardless of the wishes of their parents. The demographic transitions and rapid economic development has decreased the significance and importance of decisions made by the head of families. (Maher et al 2009). Role of Marriages: Marriage in Chinese culture is considered an important aspect of life. Apart from ensuring the continuation of family, marriages play an important role in many ways in maintaining stability and integrity of traditional Chinese features. Therefore, in a traditional Chinese family, marriages are considered to be one of the most important events in the life of an individual. Over time, the importance of marriage has diminished which is mirrored by the fact that China is experiencing a higher divorce rate than ever before. On the other hand, the incidence of premarital and extramarital affairs has also increased which reflect the reduced importance of marriages in their roles in Chinese families. Furthermore, traditional Chinese setup is based on the fact that women can not inherit their rights in the family estate and that of their husbands, however, over time women’s rights have been established and recognized which has inevitably elevated their social value and status. (Watson et al 1991). Strong Marriages Defined: In Chinese culture, strong marriages are defined as the ones which are built on a high degree of trust, love honesty, loyalty and are based upon good communication between the two partners. Furthermore, a strong marriage ensures better upbringing of the children as parents are perform their tasks of upbringing by mutual consent and efforts. However, the rising incidence of extramarital affairs signifies the diminished strength of marriages in Chinese setup. (Watson et al 1991). Strength of Chinese Culture: The Chinese have a high opinion of their culture which is probably the greatest strength of Chinese culture. The existence and celebration of traditional Chinese festivals is another feature that strengthens the solidarity and integrity of Chinese culture. Festivals such as Chinese New Year and Mid-Autumn Festival are great occasions for family reunions which strengthen family ties and serves to increase mutual attachment. The Chinese are actively involved, regardless of their age, in the preservation of their cultural Heritage signifies the strength of the love and attachment to their culture. Deeply rooted mutual attachment and importance of mutual decision making are some of the other strengths of Chinese culture. The strength of Chinese culture has been strained over time with rapid economic development. The strength of family ties has diminished with time which has inevitably paled the uniqueness and integrity of the distinct Chinese culture. Moreover, the Chinese rich culture bestows a precious and rare inner discipline which is the major reason of the high degree of tolerance exhibited by Chinese individuals. Furthermore, the moral consciousness of Chinese natives also acts to strengthen their culture. (Chu et al 2010). Difference in Culture: Being an American, I think my culture is quite different from the Chinese culture. In terms of self conception, Chinese culture emphasizes on accomplishing goals by group cooperation and mutual efforts. On the other hand, self conception in America has an egalitarian approach and the importance of social rankings continues to decrease with time. Another striking difference is the prevalence of hierarchical system and the presence of closely knitted large families in Chinese culture. American culture does not have a significant hierarchical system and involves limited mutual obligations. Chinese culture thrives on life long relationships while in American culture acquaintances change with time and most friendships are not permanent. The Americans are used to abiding by written laws while Chinese traditions emphasize more on personal relationships rather than written laws. (Cheng 2002). Conclusion The major differences between the cultural groups arise due to the environment they are living in. I believe that Americans are more focused on long term future plans and do not dwell in the past. The Chinese, on the other hand, are deeply engrossed in the past and pay little concern to the future. The women have a high social status in the United States and they have a right to inherit property from their parents and husbands. The Chinese culture provides women with no significant social status and they have no right to inherit property from their parents and husbands. All these factors together help to distinguish between these two cultural groups. References: Chu, C. Y. C., & Yu, R.-R. (2010). Understanding Chinese families: A comparative study of Taiwan and Southeast China. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Maher, J. M., & Chavkin, W. (2009). The global politics of motherhood: Transformation and fragmentation. London: Routledge. Watson, R. S., Ebrey, P. B., Joint Committee on Chinese Studies (U.S.), & Conference on Marriage and Inequality in Chinese Society. (1991). Marriage and inequality in Chinese society. Berkeley: University of California Press. Cheng, Z., & Bunnin, N. (2002). Contemporary chinese philosophy. Malden, Mass: Blackwell Publishers. Read More