Welcome back dear readers to the best travel agency this side of the milky way! Now if
you remember last time we had decided to delve into the strange planet Earth to check out what was going on, specifically in the region known as China. Now as enchanting as our last
description may have been, we know there are a few readers who wanted to know more about what makes the Chinese people tick, specifically in the way of their family structure. To that we say, Okie dokie! We here at Galactic Getaways pride ourselves in providing only the best information on the best tourist destinations down to the last detail.
What makes a family? It seems like a simple question but it can, in fact, be quite hard to
answer. Is a family only those related by blood? Only those you care about? Everyone in your
community? Each culture has a different standard when it comes to the family unit, and China is no different. China has traditionally held the idea that those connected by the same surname are family, said surname being shared from a distant male ancestor. This makes their idea of family much more extensive than what is common in other cultures around the world. The roles in the family are also quite interesting. Primarily a patriarchal society China sees its denizens forming a family where the Father is the primary bread-winner while the mother is almost always oriented towards child rearing and domestic affairs. Extended families also commonly live in the same place meaning it can get quite crowded! For the Chinese Respect is another major aspect where seniority is king, those who are younger revere those who are older for their greater experience in life. This family structure interacts with the world as a contender, where wealth and titles have been seen as the most important value for families throughout history, by providing work and deeds to better the family name (TaylorFrancis).
Aside from the immediate living situation the family unit has great contributions to the way that they interact and learn from the world. Children born into a family had roles to fulfill depending on conditions like their gender, wealth, position, and more, with a strong preference being put towards having sons as they were the ones who continued a family name. There was also a semi-recent policy in China that prohibited families from having more than one child which was in an effort to reduce the rapidly expanding population. Once the children are born they begin to learn language through interaction with others and socialize in institutions like school or with their family to gain an idea of how the customs and norms of china work. But let's take a step back to view how child raising was thought of on a deeper level (Cultural Atlas).
Raising the young of a species is paramount to survival of a species, be it on earth or any other! Child-rearing in China has its roots in collectivism and respect for authority, teaching children from an early age that those above you should always be treated with respect and efforts should be made for the collective instead of the individual. The parents and grandparents are the main source of information at this early age playing a critical role in teaching the children about these facts of life as well as traditional gender roles. Boys are usually pushed towards leadership while girls are more often taught nurturing and house care.
Globalization and Migration are some of the leading forces mixing cultures together which can create a new identity for a given culture or be viewed as a negative change. China is no stranger to these forces as it has one of the largest amounts of land on Earth, that coupled with its many different sights and tourist destinations has led to influences from other parts of the world. The family structure of the past has seen many changes due to western influence including a shift from multi generational living to a more nuclear family style and a shift in gender roles allowing for women to be leading forces in the workplace. Some practices are merely transformed and are still traditional in spirit such as pressures to care for your extended family, strict parenting with education, and high expectations to make a family proud through continued success.
-The Galactic Getaways Team
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