Role of Family in East Asian Thought - Essay Example

4. Significance of Family in East Asian Thought The importance of family ties in East Asian thought can be better understood as embedded within their culture, which itself is shaped by their thought. Asian societies especially East Asian societies have been specifically regarded as being collectivist. Collectivism is an aspect of Hofstede’s cultural dimension theory that aims at assessing cultures based on six criteria including power distance, masculinity, individualism, uncertainty avoidance, pragmatism, and indulgence. China in particular, as well as other Asian societies, are essentially high on ‘collectivism’ and low on ‘individualism’ (Wong, 0). This shows that the Chinese culture values group needs over individual needs. As a result, the focus is more on building a strong society together and strong familial ties are crucial to having strong collective relationships. Indeed East Asian thought has greatly influenced the East Asian culture and the way societies function. Families hold immense importance in East Asian societies. Close family ties and the presence of a collectivist culture reflects a manifestation of the prevalent thought. Confucianism which has quite strong roots in East Asia stresses on the importance of families. Much of Confucian philosophy centers about the creation of order and peace by focusing on family relationships and structures. Family virtues are identified as one aspect that Confucian philosophy believes to be a foundation for peace and prosperity of the world which highly correlates to order (Yao, 43). Therefore families are held quite highly in East Asian cultures inspired from Confucian thought as familial virtues are considered to be vital for presence of peace and order in a society. Confucianism plays a big role in the East Asian families and the Confucian solution to one’s individual disputes is initially tested and implemented in the family which Confucius says is the basis of having peace and order in the world (Yao, 181). The family is considered to be the fundamental component of the human community, friendly family connections are presumed to be essential for a balanced society that promotes peace and harmony. This emphasizes the value of family relationship and ties between the various members of the family. This also necessitates the treatment of family members with respect. The concept is especially true for treatment of elders by younger members of a family who are told to treat their elders with respect. The positive environment created as a result promotes a peaceful society at large. In earlier days, the ruling class was especially expected to hold such values because of their important position of authority that could influence the masses to follow the same actions. As a result, even the followers would respect elders’ thereby encouraging peace and harmony within the society. It can be observed that the family played a very important role in establishing peace within the society. This is also why a family was regarded quite highly based on the philosophical thoughts of Confucianism. Confucius especially put family responsibilities over other social duties indicating its importance. Similarly, family harmony was particularly accounted for and was promoted (Yao, 181). In a few severe instances, Confucius was even ready to strengthen family connections at6 the cost of social rules and regulation, because according to him social justice was nothing more than an addition of family sentiment and this could never be understood unless supportive family connections were made and sustained. His followers emphasized on the significance of family harmony for the strength of the whole community and also used family moralities to correct confusion (Yao, 181). Family connections according to Confucian classics are divided amongst three different sections. First is the relationship or connection amongst the parents and the children, the second relationship or connection is amongst the husband and the wife and the third and last connection or relationship is amongst elder and younger brothers (Yao, 181). Out of these types of relationships the first and the leading is the one that is amongst the parents and the children, in which the main responsibility is for the family peace is placed on the children. The conflict amongst the different generations is minimized through the respect, service and adoration that the younger ones provide to the elder ones. It is presumed that the cause of any dispute amongst the parents and children is due the second one’s wrong point of view and misconduct. In case of a dispute it was assumed that the children should be the first members to seek reconciliation (Yao, 181). This has been quite a prevalent concept that has shaped the family structure in China as well as other East Asian societies. Usually, stability in the family was considered to be a result of healthy parent and children relationship. According to De Bary and Bloom (29), patriarchal rule has been prevalent in Chinese culture and tradition which itself helped reinforce and strengthen the family system. If the cultural model of collectivism and individualism is revisited, masculinity was one of the determinants of collectivism which indicated the tendency of people to be male dominated. The rule which was established represented a form of family virtue rather than focusing on military domination. Another aspect of East Asian thought is the understanding of family as a human unit rather than an isolated entity that plays its part. This emphasis puts family on the forefront of all civic dealings and social responsibilities. The way family relationships were held highly helps to reflect the values around which the philosophy was centered about. A visible aspect of East Asian philosophy seems to be greatly inspired by Confucianism and the philosophy of Confucius itself considers family to be a very important entity that plays its role in the society. From Confucian ideas, it is evident that family was considered to be a significant player in the establishment of peace and order. Every reference made about peace and harmony stressed the relationship between the various members constituting a family. These notably include, brothers, parents, children, elders, and so on. Also, while mentioning such relationships between the members, values such as respect, humility, and regard are also pointed out. These are the values and virtues that develop effective relationship between the family members. Successful relationship and family ties therefore contribute towards overall peace not only in the society but also in the world at a larger scale. The relationship between the elder and the young is one that is especially highlighted throughout various kingdoms in Chinese history. It was expected that the young not only treat elders with respect but also to extend such behavior towards other elders. Similarly, the treatment of young was also extended to the young members of other families. This helped to strengthened inter-familial relationships as respect was expected to be extended for nearly every family (De Bary and Bloom, 122). The important element was still the presence of a family and its centrality to good treatment. On a larger scale, such sentiments can be understood as having strengthened the community and social values that can be described as essentially collectivist. So, the collectivist culture of Asia especially East Asia represents a manifestation of Confucian emphasis on family relationships. Since Confucianism has had a great impact on China and the adjacent cultures, family values are evident in these societies. In contrast Confucian values of strong family ties contradict with traditional Buddhist practice of chujia where one leaves his or her family to seek seclusion (De Bary and Bloom, 429). This tells us a key difference in thought between the forces or ideas that have shaped East Asian history – Buddhism and Confucianism. Hence, again it can be observed that Confucianism is more family centered as compared to Buddhism that typically sought enlightenment through a rather isolated practice that did not lay much stress on family roles and relationships. The family played an important role within the East Asian society as part of the Confucian philosophy that focused on the interpersonal relationships of the different members. Altogether the relationship between different family members worked to impact overall peace, prosperity, and harmony in the society. Studying and application of knowledge was encouraged as it would allow families to be regulated. This in turn had an effect on the state which would follow suit and become well regulated. When the same notion was extended to the society, it gained an order thus reducing conflicts and chaos. The overall impact was large scale peace, order, harmony, and pacification. Hence, family aspects were important in promoting a peaceful society. In the end, it can be summed up that East Asian thought has been influenced by many philosophies among which Confucianism has been an influential one. Confucianism is known for its ideas regarding family roles, responsibilities and simply its importance for the society. Therefore, family relationships between the various members were encouraged so as to maintain a healthy tie between them. Children were especially expected to give respect and elders held great importance due to their seniority. These ties led to effective social functioning and peace. Even today, East Asian cultures are symbolized by collectivism valuing group needs over individual ones. Works Cited De Bary, Willaim Theodore, and Bloom, Irene. Sources of Chinese Tradition: Volume 1: From Earliest Times to 1600. Chichester, West Sussex: Columbia University Press, 1999.  Yao, Xinzhong. An Introduction to Confucianism. Cambridge: Cambridge Unviersity Press, 2000. Wong, Edward Yui-Tim. The Chinese At Work: Collectivism Or Individualism?. Lignan University., 2001. Web. 11 Nov. 2014. http://www.library.ln.edu.hk/eresources/etext/hkibs/hkws_0040.pdf Read More