Visiting Parents–A Must-do

“Filial piety was the most desired quality in a person in traditional Chinese culture; such a person was considered to have high moral integrity. Lack of respect for one’s parents or aged relatives was considered an offence that entailed penalty.”

— ChinaDaily

The newly-revised law on elderly people in China has added a clause which states that “independent children should visit their aged parents regularly and should not ignore their need for love and affection”. This amendment has led to a hot debate because many people think that visiting or not parents is a moral problem and this behavior cannot be regulated by law.

Chinese Lunar New Year is coming and this is a time for family reunion, but many people work or live in different places that far away from where their parents live. Many Chinese people have travel long distances in order to go back to their hometown. Every year around this time, passenger transport is very difficult because there are so many people on the road. Some people simply opt not to return to their hometown where their parents live, and this becomes a convention. However, elderly people feel lonely easily and they need someone to talk to.

About a week ago, my grandpa took a two-hour bus from my hometown and came to my city. He does not talk much, but I know that he misses my dad and I. But my parents are very busy before the Lunar New Year, so instead of my parents going back to the hometown, my grandpa came here. However, he is used to living in the countryside where every family opens its doors in the daytime so that he can visit others easily. In the city, particularly in cities in China, most people live in apartments so we close our doors most of the time even without knowing who our neighbors are. My grandpa feels lonely here because he cannot visit other people and my parents are not at home on weekdays. Finally, he decided to go home. My hometown is not far away from my city, so my parents go back there every month. But what about working people whose hometown is a two hour flight away? It is likely that they can hardly visit their parents more than twice a year.

My grandpa is fortunate. He has five children, four of which still live in my hometown. But due to the one-child policy, most people of my generation are the only child in the family.  As I start my professional career, and as my parents get older, can I make sure that I visit them very often? Well, I don’t really need a law to remind me of filial piety. But such a law reminds some too-busy people to visit their parents in explicit terms.

Reference:

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/opinion/2011-01/08/content_11812339.htm

Lu Yang

Team 5: International Health

Northampton, MA

Smith College Sophomore