Chow N
University of Hong Kong, China.
J Aging Soc Policy. 1991;3(1-2):209-25. doi: 10.1300/J031v03n01_14.
China has been known for centuries for its traditions of respecting the old. While this tradition has been weakened in the modern era, it still remains as the most important value underlying the practice of supporting the old in present-day China. This article looks into the meaning of filial piety, or xiao, and examines how it has been observed both in the old and modern times. It argues that though the Chinese communists have found filial piety ideologically repulsive, they have nevertheless tolerated it and even used it as the basis for a welfare network to support the elderly in the villages. However, in order to be truthful to their socialist ideology, they have also provided for urban workers the most sophisticated state-financed retirement benefits. Two different kinds of systems to support the elderly hence exist in China. The tensions resulting from this dichotomous situation are examined.
几个世纪以来，中国一直以尊老传统而闻名。尽管这一传统在现代有所削弱，但它仍然是当今中国养老实践背后最重要的价值观。本文探讨了孝道的含义，并审视了它在古代和现代是如何被践行的。文章认为，尽管中国共产党人在意识形态上排斥孝道，但他们仍然容忍了它，甚至将其作为农村养老福利网络的基础。然而，为了忠实于他们的社会主义意识形态，他们也为城市工人提供了最完善的国家资助的退休福利。因此，中国存在两种不同的养老体系。本文考察了这种二分局面所产生的紧张关系。
