What is modern filial piety?

Young people rush about for their lives and come and go for their careers. Has anyone forgotten their parents' life in a hurry? Filial piety, an eternal moral norm. What is the modern understanding of filial piety? In order to find out this problem, from 200 1, the Sichuan Academy of Social Sciences and the Sichuan Provincial Committee of the Communist Youth League jointly organized the "Chinese Filial Piety Culture Research Group" to organize an investigation. After three years of investigation and analysis, a report entitled "Investigation and Analysis of Filial Piety of Urban and Rural Residents in Sichuan" was officially completed in mid-February 2004.

urgent matter

A probe into modern filial piety

Chengdu Business Daily: Filial piety, as one of the traditional virtues of the Chinese nation, has been passed down from generation to generation. People have long recognized that it is an important moral norm that restricts the behavior of modern residents. Is it necessary to invest a lot of human and financial resources to investigate and analyze the present situation of filial piety of urban and rural residents?

Researcher Zhao Xishun, Institute of Sociology, Sichuan Academy of Social Sciences: According to the Outline for the Implementation of Civic Morality Construction issued by the Central Committee, family virtue is identified as one of the three basic areas of civic morality construction, and "filial piety" is an indispensable and important reason for family virtue. It should be pointed out that with the development of history, the traditional "filial piety" has been praised and criticized differently, and the concept of modern filial piety is also vague. From a modern point of view, filial piety, as a family virtue, is also an important part of excellent traditional culture. It is urgent to take its essence and discard its dross.

But how do urban and rural residents view filial piety and modern filial piety? In order to find out this problem, starting from 200 1, the Provincial Academy of Social Sciences and the Sichuan Provincial Committee of the Communist Youth League jointly organized the "Chinese Filial Piety Culture Research Group" to organize an investigation. After three years of investigation and analysis, we formally completed a report entitled "Investigation and Analysis of Filial Piety of Urban and Rural Residents in Sichuan" (hereinafter referred to as "Report") in the middle of this month.

Chengdu Business Daily: What is the survey method? What is the composition of the respondents?

Zhao Xishun: In order to make the survey comprehensive and accurate, the Provincial Academy of Social Sciences first designed a questionnaire, and then entrusted the Sichuan Provincial Committee of the Communist Youth League to send thousands of questionnaires to urban and rural residents through organizations throughout the province. Finally, the survey was summarized. The whole process lasted for three years.

According to the report, there are 869 people in this survey, of whom 53.36% are men and 46.64% are women. The youngest is 14 years old and the oldest is 82 years old. Among the respondents, 45.9 1% came from cities. From the survey of family types, the ratio of husband and wife is 15.6%, the ratio of husband and wife to unmarried children is 39.23%, and the ratio of parents (or one of them) living with married children is 20. 1%.

Generally speaking, the respondents include people from different backgrounds, which is conducive to a comprehensive understanding of people's views on filial piety.

questionnaire survey

Filial piety is not only material support.

Chengdu Business Daily: The ancients said that "filial piety is the first virtue" and filial piety is considered as the most basic morality. However, the understanding of the meaning of filial piety is endless. And the so-called "inherit the wind" and so on. People believe that absolute obedience to parents should be the main purpose of filial piety. The report shows modern people's views on filial piety?

Zhao Xishun: This survey mainly focuses on filial piety. Results 96.78% people have heard the word "filial piety", which proves that it is still one of the main moral norms in modern people's consciousness.

Next, the questionnaire survey on the meaning of filial piety is thought-provoking.

What is filial piety? In ancient times, Confucius and Mencius once said, "There are three kinds of unfilial, and there is no future." They regard carrying on the family line and reburial as important contents of filial piety, and blindly emphasize absolute obedience to their parents. But judging from the results of this survey, people's ideas have changed a lot:

Less than 2% of the respondents agree with the main contents of "filial piety", such as carrying on the family line, burying parents deeply and blindly following their parents; 7 1.63% of the respondents said that filial piety should mean "being good at taking care of parents". What needs to be pointed out here is that material support is of course important, but if you don't respect your parents and give them a look, even if you provide exquisite food, it can't be called filial piety.

We find that the competition in modern society is fierce, and children are busy with work, study and entertainment, so it is easy to ignore parents' visits and greetings, which makes parents feel depressed because they can't get the satisfaction of their families, and no matter how much material support is available. Only by combining "nurturing feelings" with "respecting relatives" can we truly embody the essence of filial piety.

Filial piety is actually maintained by children and parents. Therefore, in the report, we investigate children's questions and answers about their parents' living conditions, and parents' views on whether their children are filial.

Children talk about filial piety

More than 30% of children have conflicts with their parents.

Chengdu Business Daily: Filial piety, as a moral norm, is a code of conduct for dealing with the relationship between children and parents. What is the current situation of the relationship between children and parents in modern society by analyzing the survey results of the report?

Zhao Xishun: This survey specially designed two groups of questions: First, the relationship between children living with their parents, including whether there were any conflicts when they lived together, and if so, who caused them? The second is the relationship between children and their parents after separation, including how to support, take care of and visit their parents after separation. Have you ever had any conflicts and disputes over supporting your parents?

First look at the relationship between children and parents. Results 67. 12% of the respondents had few contradictory answers. At the same time, 36. 14% people think that the contradiction comes from the mother-in-law. This shows that more than 30% of families in real life do have contradictions between children and parents, and the relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law has become the key to maintaining family harmony.

Then look at the relationship between parents and children after the children are separated from their parents. On the question of how to support their parents after separation, 48.29% children answered that their parents support themselves; 26.56% answered that their children provided money and food, and their parents lived alone; 38.67% answered that they can visit their parents every day, and 20.93% answered that they can visit their parents once every five days.

Old people are old and weak, and their living ability is weak. For various reasons, it is often difficult for children to take care of the elderly. Although parents' financial resources are guaranteed to some extent after separation, it is a great pity for elderly parents to lack greetings from their children and family exchanges. This has to make children think deeply.

Parents talk about filial piety

More than 20% of parents think their children are unfilial.

Zhao Xishun: Look at the evaluation of filial piety by middle-aged and elderly parents in the questionnaire we designed;

Only 32.74% answered "very filial", and about 65% of parents thought their children were "relatively filial or average". It should be noted that the conclusion that the elderly are "relatively filial" to their children actually weakens some dissatisfaction with their children. Based on the relevant data, more than 20% of the parents surveyed believe that some children are unfilial.

More than 70% of parents think that their children have not fulfilled their support obligations. At present, the social security for the elderly in China is not perfect. A considerable number of elderly people, especially those in rural areas, have to rely on their children to support them after losing their labor force. Therefore, from the perspective of elderly parents, whether to support their parents has become an important criterion to measure their filial piety. At the same time, the report also shows that "parents who don't visit and take care of their parents" and "children blame their parents for taking care of their children, cooking and washing clothes" ... treating them as nurses and hourly workers are also extremely disgusted by the parents surveyed.

Advocate filial piety

Severely punish unfilial behavior

Zhao Xishun: According to the survey data, the filial piety that meets the needs of modern society and socialist spiritual civilization construction is to take its essence and discard its dross. The idea of "filial piety" advocated by the ancients is consistent with the obligation of children to support their parents and the basic spirit of respecting and loving the elderly stipulated by the current law. However, we should vigorously use the power of public opinion to refute the feudal dross such as "the father is the son" and "being buried again for a long time".

At the same time, the whole society should set an example of respecting the elderly; On the other hand, it will play a supervisory role and severely punish the abuse, abandonment and serious violation of the rights and interests of the elderly.