Without doubt, parental love is one of the world’s greatest emotions, regarded as the premise of the filial piety (Xiao in Chinese pinyin) of Chinese people. However, to enhance filial duties, the notion of ‘all good is of parents’ in the official campaigns of China is worth further investigation. This article seeks to verify the hypothesis ‘all good is of parents’ by examining conflicts between the hypothesis and reality, first through classic documents and current documentary reporting in China, and then through the lens of psychology.
AdlerA.1929. The Practice and Theory of Individual Psychology (Rev. ed.). London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner and Co.
2.
BlusteinJ.1982. Parents and Children: The Ethics of the Family. New York: Oxford University Press.
3.
ChouR.J.-A.2011. ‘Filial Piety by Contract? The Emergence, Implementation, and Implications of the “Family Support Agreement” in China’. The Gerontologist, Vol. 51, No. 1, 3–16.
4.
ChowN.1991. Does Filial Piety Exist under Chinese Communism?Journal of Aging & Social Policy, Vol. 3, No. 1–2, 209–25.
ConfuciusDawsonR.1993. The Analects. New York: Oxford University Press.
7.
CuiLijuan. 2002. ‘Tuixiu Zhen 5 Zhong Xingge Leixing’ [Five Personality Types for the Retired]. The Elderly Education, No. 7, 27–28.
8.
WeimingDu. 2008. ‘Wenming de Duihua he Ruxue Shengming de Zhongjian—Du Weiming Fangtan [Dialogue on Civilisation and Reconstruction of Confucianism—Interview with Du Weiming], http://www.wenhuacn.com/zhexue/article.asp?classid=23&articleid=1267 (accessed on 9 September 2013).
9.
EnglishJ.1992. ‘What do Grown Children Owe their Parents?’ in JeckerN. (ed.), Aging and Ethics. Totowa, NJ: Humana Press, 147–54.
10.
ShoucaiGui. 2001. ‘Renge Lilun’ [Personality Theory], in LiZ.YaoB. (eds), New Theory of Psychology. Beijing: Higher Education Press, 37–47.
JungC.G.1921. Psychological Types (Vol. 6). London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.
17.
KellerS.2006. ‘Four Theories of Filial Duty’, The Phlosophical Quarterly, Vol. 56, No. 223, 21.
18.
KongXiangan. 2011. ‘Kongzi “Xiao” Lun de Yiyu Xintan’ [New Exploration on the Implicat of Filial Piety Theory of Confucius], Jinan University Journal (Social science edition), Vol. 21, No. 6, 67–71.
19.
LiS.2013. ‘The Moral Dilemma and Social Disadvantages of Placing Unique Emphasis on the Filial Child’, The International Journal of Critical Cultural Studies, Vol. 11, No. 1, 1–10.
20.
LinY. (1994). My Country and My People (HaoZ.ShenY., Trans.). Guangzhou: Academia Press.
21.
LiuYang. 2010. ‘Quanguo Yingshi Chuangzuo Zuotan: Yi Zerengan he Shiminggan Tuidong Yingshi Chuangzuo’ [National Films and Television Creation Symposium: To Promote Films and Television Creation with a Sense of Responsibility and a Sense of Mission], The People’s Daily, 28 September, 13.
22.
ShiLu. 2009. ‘Liaoniangren de 9 Xing Renge yu Huli Yingdui’ [Nine Personality Types for the Elderly and Coping Style with Nursing], Zhong Hua Nursing Education, Vol. 6, No. 9, 427–429.
23.
XunLu. (1928). ‘24 Xiao Tu’ [The Photography of the 24 Stories of Filial Piety], in Zhao Hua Xi Shi [Life is a moment]. Guangzhou: Beijing Weiming Press, 24–26.
24.
ZhiguoMa. 2010. ‘Liaoniangren de Xingge Leixing’ [Personality Types for the Elderly], Fitness Science, No. 5, 32–33.
New Capital. 2012. ‘Zhiyou Shifenzhiyi de Liaonianren Zhuyao Kao Yanglaojin Shenghuo’ [Only Two in Ten Aged People in China Mainly Live on Age Pension], 23October, http://www.bjnews.com.cn/feature/2012/10/23/229143.html (accessed on 10 July 2013).
28.
PopperK.1959. The Logic of Scientific Discovery. London: Hutchinson.
29.
PorterS.2003. ‘Empiricism and Abstracted Empiricism’, in MillerR.L.BrewerJ.D. (eds), The A–Z of Social Research: A Dictionary of Key Social Science Research Concepts. London: SAGE Publications Ltd, 91–94.
30.
ReichardS.LivsonF.PetersenP.G. 1962. Aging and Personality: Study of 87 Older Men. Hoboken: Wiley.
31.
SimmonsA.J.1981. Moral Principles and Political Obligations. New Jersey: Princeton University Press.
32.
XiaoyingWangJiaZhang. 2009. ‘Chengzhi Shinue Fumu, Falu li Xianshi Haiyou Duoyuan?’ [How Far is the Law Away from the Punishment of Maltreating Parents?], Xian Evening, 19November, 20.
33.
WangQ.2002. ‘The Confucian Filial Obligation and Care for Aged Parents’, in FanR. (ed.), Confucian Bioethics (Vol. 61). Houten: Springer Netherlands, 235–56.
ZhihongWu (2007). Weihu Jia Hui Shangren? [Why Could Home Hurt?]. Guang Zhou: World Book Publishing Company.
40.
Yangyang.2007. ‘ Jintian, Women hai Xuyao Xuexi 24 Xiao ma?’ [Today, do you Still Need to Learn 24 Stories of Filial Piety?], http://blog.ifeng.com/article/874011.html (accessed on 20 May 2013).
41.
YehKuang HuiBedfordO. 2003. ‘A Test of the Dual Filial Piety Model’. Asian Journal of Social Psychology, Vol. 6, No. 3, 215–28.
42.
YehK.H.YiC.C.TsaoW.C.WanP.S.2013. ‘Filial Piety in Contemporary Chinese Societies: A Comparative Study of Taiwan, Hong Kong, and China’, International Sociology, Vol. 28, No. 3, 277–96.
Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo Laonianren Quanyi Baozhang Fa [The Protection of the Rights and Interests of the Elderly Act of the People’s Republic of China], The Central People’s Government of the People’s Republic of China (2013, 1September).
