Why do Western countries rarely mention "filial piety"?

Last time, I met an American studying in China, and like many others, I asked him why you seem to speak so little about filial piety in Western countries. Seeing that he didn't seem to understand much, I went on to explain, "Your parents raised you so well, so why don't you give your parents your old age?

He replied, "I can't decide to let me come to this world, I can't decide on my own, the birth is my parents' business, so it's my parents' duty to raise my children. However, the West is not exactly like the Chinese impression of filial piety parents, at least the children of parents still have to have the care, as for the children are willing to give their parents old age, it is their choice, after all, the Western countries have after all mature pension system.

In the West, people generally go to nursing homes when they get old. The social security system in Western countries was established earlier and is relatively mature and complete, so the old people are very relieved in their old age. Therefore, in the western countries people's concept, there is almost no "raising children to prevent old age".

As early as the end of the Qing Dynasty, Li Hongzhang and other ministers saw that foreigners were uprooted from their homes and away from their parents for years, and once judged Westerners as barbarians who did not care about filial piety. In fact, the West also talk about "filial piety", the Chinese people think that people in Western countries do not honor their parents, the foreign friend said that this view this is a bit unfair, he cited an example, for example, in the West also have "Mother's Day", "Father's Day" and other holidays. "For example, in the West, there are also Mother's Day, Father's Day, and other festivals, all of which are dedicated to giving thanks to fathers and mothers. There are also many chapters in the Bible that call for people to honor their parents, but the "filial piety" in the West is spoken of in the context of mutual respect for people, unlike the Chinese who talk about it so often.

In the West, the relationship between parents and children is one of equality, not one of dominance and submission, which is very different from the Chinese concept of filial piety. Similarly, in Western countries, the elderly rarely live with their children, and rarely help them with their children, or buy them a house or car. In China, having a mother-in-law take care of a new pregnancy is unthinkable in the eyes of white people, many of whom come to celebrate their grandchildren's births, and do not specialize in serving women in labor.

All in all, this is a difference in cultural practices, which is related to the Western countries advocate individualism, Westerners family concept is relatively thin compared to the Chinese, but the relationship between family members is still relatively harmonious. Their parents rarely worry about the size of their children, the focus of education is to cultivate their independent personality, and later in the community to survive the skills and abilities. When the children grow up, they don't have to obey their parents' orders, and they have a more relaxed environment to express themselves and do what they want to do.

To a certain extent, filial piety in China is above independent personality, because there is no pension system in ancient China, so in order to solve the problem of old age, the rulers of successive dynasties had to vigorously advocate filial piety, which means that we have to live for the family, not for themselves, the Chinese people often put the old man and the moral high, authoritative and wise, the old man said that everything is right, the children can not have their own ideas, do not listen to them. Can not have their own ideas, do not listen to is ungrateful, in the face of parental interference in the children's own affairs, children must also have to listen to their parents, otherwise it is ungrateful, but this will generally make the parents and the children to lose their own self, and make a mess of both sides are very unpleasant.

Some scholars believe that the development of a nation, filial piety emasculates the independence and innovation of the next generation, because it wipes out a certain degree of independent thinking and problem-solving ability, and do not talk about what to stimulate people's innovation, what is said above, do not let you want to think about the right and wrong, so you do, the whole environment is like this, you reasoning at all! The whole environment is like this, your reasoning simply does not work. But a nation without creativity has no future! A filial piety that is inherently unequal is even more incapable of creating a harmonious society.

True filial piety, or harmonious piety, should be elders and juniors should also be respected, and mutual respect. Elders should also have standards of behavior, and elders can not do whatever they want. Respect for the elderly and love for the young itself is not wrong, but only about respect for the elders, regardless of right or wrong filial piety, is a cultural tumor, hindering the progress of the country.