Elder respect: exploration of ideals and forms in East Asia
Introduction
In recent years, concern over respect for elders has been increasing Belmot Report, 1978, Chipperfield & Havens, 1992, Ingersoll-Dayton & Saengtienchai, 1999, Leininger, 1990, Lew, 1995, McKee, 1982, Mehta, 1997, Nydegger, 1983, Palmore & Maeda, 1985, Post, 1989, Silverman & Maxwell, 1978, Streib, 1987, Sung, 1998a, Takahashi, 1995.
There have been reports on the tendency among some young people to mistreat helpless old persons, to abandon frail elders, and to disrespect the elderly in general Kim, 1998, Lau & Kosberg, 1979, Moon & Williams, 1993, Pillemer & Finkelhor, 1988, Tomita, 1994. Many of the aged in the world probably suffer from disrespect; only a minority may be maintaining respect from younger generations because of unusual accomplishments Nydegger, 1983, Palmore & Maeda, 1985. Without respect, the young would not be able to have positive attitudes toward the elderly and treat them with propriety. Respect remains an essential element in maintaining the status of the elderly Leininger, 1990, Nydegger, 1983, Palmore & Maeda, 1985. It remains puzzling, however, that the theme of respect is so noticeably absent from most discussions of aging.
The elderly are those who have contributed to their families and society throughout their lifetime. Above all, most of them are parents who raised, educated, and cared for children. For aging parents, adult children are an essential part of their support system. How these children treat the aged is of major concern to the elderly, as well as to society.
(Hereafter, “respect for the elderly” is termed “elder respect.” The term “elder” here denotes parent, grandparent, other elderly relative, teacher, neighborhood elder, and elders in general.)
Cultural change has a significant effect on elder respect Nydegger, 1983, Palmore, 1989, Silverstein et al., 1998, Simic, 1990, Streib, 1987. In a culture, values, norms, roles, and patterns of social interaction associated with elder respect persist from generation to generation Palmore & Maeda, 1985, Streib, 1987. The peoples of East Asia have a notable tradition of elder respect. The Chinese, the Japanese, and Koreans have shared this tradition for many generations Lang, 1946, Park, 1983, Silberman, 1962. [The Chinese here include those in the mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Singapore, which altogether comprise the larger Chinese community of Asia.]
The traditional basis for elder respect is Confucian teachings of filial piety. In the teachings, respect for parents and elders is the most stressed point (Teachings of Filial Piety, 1989, Chaps. 7 and 9). Filial piety essentially directs offspring to recognize the care and aid received from their parents and, in return, to pay respect for their parents Kong, 1995, Lew, 1995, Takahashi, 1995.
Until now, elder respect has been described in abstract terms; it has been a concept too general to provide clear guidance for practice. The view that does receive popular support is that elder respect is “being courteous and obedient to elders.” Elder respect as colloquially described has been characterized by emphasis on these general principles.
If we carefully explore the concept of elder respect in literature on filial piety, however, such a simplistic conceptualization does not seem appropriate for a realistic understanding of this extensive and complex ideal. Confucian writers described how parents and the elderly should be respected in a variety of forms and the importance of individual forms has been treated by writers in varied ways depending on their belief and interests, and the context of discussion. Thus, the complete distinction of how elders should be respected is still an unresolved issue. To better understand respect for elders, its forms should first be thoroughly explored.
The purpose of this paper is to explore the forms of respect prevalent among East Asian peoples, namely the Chinese, the Japanese, and Koreans, and provide a comprehensive set of such forms for future studies. For this purpose, the paper first reviews the traditional meanings of elder respect in Confucian literature, and then explores forms of respect widely observed among the Asian peoples based on findings of recent studies on elder respect in Asia. There are signs of shift in the way in which elder respect is expressed by young generations in East Asian societies. Certain aspects of this shift are discussed. It is not the purpose of this paper to discuss the philosophy of respect but rather to explore the explicit actions of respect practiced in daily living.
Section snippets
Ideals of elder respect
The first part of the present study was to review the passages excerpted from the traditional literature to find out the root meanings of elder respect. The Book of Rites (1993) (Li Chi: Confucian teachings on rites or propriety), Analects of Confucius (1996) (Lun Yu: sayings and deeds of Confucius and his disciples on a scope of subjects including education and moral cultivation), and the Teachings of Filial Piety (Hsiao Ching: guidelines for the practice of filial piety) laid down a number of
Distinguishing classical forms of elder respect
As the second task of this study, specific action forms of elder respect contained in the above passages were explored.
Three researchers analyzed the passages. Sentences, phrases, and words in the passages that fit into each of the reference forms were located. Initially, five forms frequently cited in literature were selected as reference forms, i.e., care respect, salutatory respect, linguistic respect, victual respect, and acquiescent respect. Although these forms guided the analysis, other
Forms distinguished by previous studies
The third task was to broaden the context for the exploration of forms of elder respect. This involved selecting empirical studies conducted in recent years which met the following criteria: (1) analyzed forms of elder respect; (2) used a sample of East Asian people; and (3) met commonly accepted canons of methodological adequacy for qualitative or quantitative research.
Elder respect practiced by East Asian peoples has been reported on by writers, including: Goldstein and Ku (1993), Harper
Meanings and practices of forms of respect
General meanings of the modern forms are summarily described below.
Care Respect: Respect expressed by care and services for an elder's mind and body, e.g., providing personal care, nourishment, homemaking and health and social services; making them feel happy and comfortable.
Victual Respect: Behaviors directed towards respecting prerogatives held by elders with regard to the liking and consumption of foods and drinks, e.g., serving foods and drinks of elders' choice.
Gift Respect: Bestowing
Changing times and shifting expressions
The ways in which elder respect is expressed appear to be shifting. However, few studies have systematically assessed how much or how fast they are changing. The meaning of respect is shifting from obedience and subservience to courtesy and kindness (Mehta, 1997). For instance, listening to parents when they talk, which does not always mean obeying or following what parents talk to them, is taken by many young people as a form of elder respect (Sung & Kim, 2000). Consulting elders, which
Discussion
In the exploration of forms of elder respect, a set of 14 forms emerged; elder respect is explained by multiple action forms. The distinction between these forms highlights specific ways in which parents and elders are respected by East Asian peoples. Reflecting the continuing influence of the traditional value of elder respect, the meanings and expressions of almost all the modern forms are consonant with those of the classical forms. As Streib (1987) stated, values, norms, and roles
Acknowledgements
The author is grateful to Gordon F. Streib of The University of Florida and Erdman B. Palmore of Duke University for their helpful comments on the draft of this paper.
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