Why do people in China respect filial piety and why do people in China value it so much?

Traditional China is not only based on agriculture, but also on filial piety. Filial piety has been the most important good deed and virtue since ancient times. Of all the goodness, filial piety is the most transcendent; Of all the virtues, filial piety is the most common. In order to emphasize the transcendence of filial piety, Confucius once said in the Book of Filial Piety: "Filial piety is the foundation of virtue, and teaching is also born." (The opening chapter of "The Book of Filial Piety" means that filial piety is the foundation of all morality and the source of all education. In order to emphasize the universality of filial piety, the Book of Filial Piety also says: "The filial piety of the husband, the classics of heaven, the righteousness of the earth, and the trip of people." (The Three Tales of Filial Piety) means that filial piety can fill the universe and connect heaven, earth and people into one. In traditional China society, filial piety is so important that it has become the ultimate principle of caring for relatives, managing families, governing the country and balancing the world (Li Guoliang, 1973). Today, we can even say that filial piety is the most prominent feature of China culture.

Why is filial piety so important in traditional China society? To answer this question, we must start with the characteristics of traditional China society. From the perspective of cultural ecology, the ecological environment of traditional China society is mainly suitable for agricultural economic life. China's civilization originated from the core area of Yangshao culture (including Shaanxi, southwestern Shanxi and Weishui Basin in western Henan). The natural environment in this area is changeable, with little rainfall and few plants, but its soil is fertile loess. This kind of soil can be cultivated for a long time without additional fertilization, but it still has a good harvest (Rumpelly, 1908). In this ecological environment, farming seems to be the most suitable way to make a living. Archaeological data show that as early as 5,000 years ago in the Neolithic Age, a self-sufficient agricultural system appeared in this area. Since then, the scope of agricultural management and activities has gradually expanded. In the past two thousand years, a high-yield and efficient agricultural system (HO, 1976) has also been formed in the south of Huaihe River. In short, since ancient times, the traditional economy of China society has been mainly agriculture.

Agriculture takes land as the main production tool, and the protection and cultivation of land and the care and harvest of crops are beyond the individual's ability, so it must rely on long-term and stable small groups to operate together. A relatively long-term and stable clique is of course a family based on bloodline, so the family has become the most important operating unit in traditional China society. Because the family is the core of agricultural economic life and social life, the protection, continuity, harmony and unity of the family are very important, thus forming.

Family-centered thoughts and practices. Family is not only the main group or collective in the traditional agricultural society, but also the strong experience and habit of living since childhood, which makes

Develop an obvious psychological and behavioral tendency, that is, familyize the groups or organizations outside the family, that is, generalize the structural forms, relationship models and operating principles in the family to the groups or organizations outside the family. This psychological and behavioral process that extends the form and connotation of family structure, family relationship and family ethics to non-family groups or collectives (such as social, economic, religious or political groups or collectives) can be called familyization. Through the process of familism, it can be called pan-familism to regard groups or collectives outside the family as people who are similar to the family. The relationship between familism, familism process and pan-familism is shown in the figure.

In the traditional China society, under the strong influence of familism, in order to maintain the harmony, unity and continuity of the family, the younger generation must obey their elders, carry on the family line, support their parents, accompany their parents and not travel far. In the process of socialization, in order to let children develop these ideas, wishes and behaviors, we must advocate a set of ideology containing these elements, which is filial piety or filial piety. Therefore, from the perspective of cultural ecology, filial piety or filial piety is a complex and exquisite cultural design, whose function is to promote the harmony, unity and continuity of families. Only in this way can families effectively engage in agricultural economic and social life and fully adapt to the ecological environment suitable for agriculture. Since filial piety has such a great role, its importance will naturally surpass other virtues and kindness. Especially for those who have advanced, through the process of family functionalization, filial piety ethics will extend to groups or collectives outside the family, such as line numbers, societies, counties, countries and the world. For example, in the traditional society of China, the country is often compared to an essayist and the monarch to a father, and there is a saying that "filial piety means loyalty to the monarch" (The Book of Filial Piety) and "I respect my son and my father" (A Brief Biography of Li Hanguang). Under the influence of familism, the scope of filial piety is not limited to the family, and then extended to areas outside the family. This forms the mentality of pan-filial piety (see figure 1- 1). Pan-filial piety not only helps to maintain the authoritative structure within the family (emphasizing the relationship between superiors and subordinates or hierarchy), but also helps to maintain the authoritative structure outside the family. This is why the master wants to advocate "ruling the family with filial piety" and the governor wants to advocate "ruling the country with filial piety". In a word, in the traditional China society, filial piety is important because it can promote the harmony, unity and continuity of families and other social collectives, thus effectively adapting to the farming economy and social life. In this society, the filial piety expressed by pan-filial piety is not only the focus of familism, but also the foundation of China's collectivism.

China's collectivism is actually dominated by familism, so it is a kind of familism collectivism. In the traditional agricultural society, the family is the most important collective or group, which is very important to most people.

Generally speaking, it is even the only collective or group. In economic, social and political life, the main operating unit is the family, not the individual. For example, land belongs to the whole family, not to any individual member; Farming land and other income belong to the whole family, not any member. In traditional China society, most ethnic groups are inseparable from their families all their lives. Therefore, for them, familism, in which the family is the most important and the individual is the least important, is actually a kind of collectivism. In addition, even those traditional China people who live outside the family, pan-familism formed through the familism process will urge them to show their attention to the collective (groups outside the family) in a familism way, while ignoring the individual. That is to say, for all traditional China people, their collectivism is based on familism, so it is a kind of familism collectivism. In traditional agricultural society, traditional filial piety is important because it can promote the harmony, unity and stability of family collectivism society.

However, the present and future Taiwan Province society is no longer a family-oriented collectivist society. After more than 30 years of rapid economic development and social changes, Taiwan Province Province has changed from a traditional agricultural society to a modern industrial and commercial society (Yang Guoshu, 19865438+ 1985b). This is not only quantitative change, but also qualitative change; It is not only the change of degree, but also the change of type. In this out-and-out change, the most basic thing is the change of livelihood economic form. In the traditional agricultural society, the economic form that people depend on for a living is to engage in agricultural activities; In modern industrial and commercial society, the economic form that people rely on to make a living is to engage in industrial and commercial activities. The former mainly relies on land crops, while the latter mainly relies on scientific and technological intelligence.

In modern industrial and commercial society, no matter how huge the organization of industrial and commercial institutions is, no matter how complicated the process of industrial production and commercial activities is, the work is mainly designed by individuals. With the separation of ownership and the right to work, people from different families are used to working together. In any job, individuals can be highly substituted, and anyone with certain conditions can take up their posts. In most cases, the acquisition of industrial and commercial jobs depends on personal professional intelligence and physical and mental characteristics, and has little to do with family background. At the same time, in order to pursue better jobs and higher treatment, individuals often change their job categories and work places, thus becoming a modern "nomadic people" who make a living by working. As a result, people in modern industrial and commercial society are alienated not only from the land, but also from their hometown.

The basic transformation of the above-mentioned livelihood economic form has derived various brand-new social characteristics and created a brand-new way of life (Yang Guoshu, 19865438+ 1985b). Modern industrial and commercial society basically takes individuals as the main business units, not collectives as the main business units. In economic, social and political life, the individual is the unit that enjoys rights and performs obligations, and is the focus of praise and evaluation. In other words, the center of the value and meaning of life is no longer the collective, but the individual. Under this irresistible trend, familism and collectivism declined and were replaced by individualism, which emphasized individual autonomy, value, dignity and happiness.

In the traditional agricultural society, the main social function of filial piety is to promote the harmony, unity and existence of collectivized families and society under the idea of familism and pan-filial piety. The changes of more than 30 years have transformed Taiwan Province Province into a modern industrial and commercial society, but with the decline of familism and collectivism, the above social functions of traditional filial piety will gradually weaken or disappear. The loss of the function of traditional filial piety will inevitably lead to great evolution and gradually transform into a new filial piety with individualism as the keynote. The new filial piety of individualism degenerates from the traditional filial piety of collectivism. It will emphasize the value, dignity and happiness of both parents and children, and will respect their independence, autonomy and automation. Compared with the traditional old filial piety, what are the main characteristics of this new filial piety is the main topic to be discussed below. In order to facilitate the discussion of this topic, the next section will first analyze the connotation and essence of filial piety from the perspective of social psychology, so as to put forward a conceptual framework for understanding filial piety.

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