Family Relationships in China
1 min readFamily relationships are at the heart of Chinese culture. Children’s duty to their parents is the root from which moral and social virtues grow. The five key relationships are those between parent and child, elder brother and young brother, husband and wife, friend and friend, and ruler and subject.
Each relationship is guided by particular responsibilities according to the Chinese traditional code of ethics. For example, a parent is responsible for a child’s physical care, moral guidance and education; the corresponding responsibilities of the child involve being obedient and respectful, taking care of the parent in old age, etc.
Filial piety serves, moreover, as a paradigm or model for how other relationships should be conducted. In the Chinese traditional code of ethics, the relationship between the ruler and his subjects patterns itself after that between parents and children. So does the relationship between the husband and the wife, with the husband based on mutual respect has been established in China. being the figure of authority (like the parent or ruler) and the wife in the subordinate role of child or subject.
The elder/younger brother relationship also follows this model. The only relationship between equals is that between friends, though a hierarchy of age may exist between friends of disparate ages. Along with the development of society and the advance in civilization, traditional code of ethics has changed. The equal relationship .
