“Serve Them with Rituals”: Power and Emotions in the Confucian Parent-Child Relationship

This article challenges the conventional portrayal of the parent-child relationship in Confucian thought as authoritarian and even oppressive. It reconstructs a Confucian ethical view of the relationship from the perspective of parenting in addition to the more common discussions of filial conduct. It argues that the Analects ’ view of filial conduct emphasizes following ritual norms instead of absolute obedience to parents. Although the Analects does not explicitly discuss parenting, passages that mention Confucius with his children are thought provoking. By examining the role of emotions and power dynamics in rituals involving the parent-child relationship, the article defends an account of how Confucian ritual cultivates appropriate love and respect on the part of both parents and children, and its intention is to restrain the conduct of the more powerful in such unequal relationships, instead of oppressing the vulnerable.