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China has been known for centuries for its traditions of respecting the old. While this tradition has been weakened in the modern era, it still remains as the most important value underlying the practice of supporting the old in present-day China. This article looks into the meaning of filial piety, or xiao, and examines how it has been observed both in the old and modern times. It argues that though the Chinese communists have found filial piety ideologically repulsive, they have nevertheless tolerated it and even used it as the basis for a welfare network to support the elderly in the villages. However, in order to be truthful to their socialist ideology, they have also provided for urban workers the most sophisticated state-financed retirement benefits. Two different kinds of systems to support the elderly hence exist in China. The tensions resulting from this dichotomous situation are examined.
W. K. Chow (Fri,) studied this question.