Revisiting Notions of Filial Piety in China

recently forward to me a New York Times article that discussed what the paper called a “ham handed” attempt by the Chinese government to remind its citizens of the classic notions around filial piety.  For anyone working in the senior care field in China, it is a quick but essential read.

As way of quick background, one of the primary cultural storybooks Chinese are familiar with is Guo Jujing’s “The 24 Paragons of Filial Piety.”  These paragons are morality plays, all with an emphasis on reminding the reader of the necessity to take care of, and thereby honor, your parents and grandparents.  Many of the children Guo writes of are successful – the “Learned Emperor of Han” as only one example – but none are so busy they cannot be troubled to return home and care for their parents when they are needed.  Among the object lessons offered to his audience is Yu Qianlou, a magistrate during the Qi dynasty, who returned home after finding that his father had been sick for some time.  The doctor’s advice was that Yu must “taste his father’s dung.”  Hence the translated name of this tale:  “Yu Qianlou:  Tasted Dung with an Anxious Heart.”  If that advice seems a bit out of date, then you are not alone.  Hence the Chinese Central Government’s attempt to modernize “The 24 Paragons of Filial Piety” with the hope they can remind Chinese of their filial responsibilities.

If dung tasting is out, what is in?  According to the New York Times article, “Readers are urged to teach them how to surf the Internet, take Mom to a classic film and buy health insurance for retired parents.”  We learn later in the article that the updated version of “The 24 Paragons of Filial Piety” also suggests children should take their children on vacation.  Imagine the sighs of relief all across the nation knowing that dung tasting has been relegated to days gone by!  The Central Government has been surprised at how these updated and state-sponsored parables have been received, something worth noting in and of itself.  Becase Xinhua and other state-led media platforms function in a 21^st century nexus between legitimate information and out-right propaganda, this sort of messaging is to be expected.  But information peddling can also be resented by many Chinese as backwards, unhelpful, and overly simplistic.  While many acknowledge the need to find a way to take care of their elders, simply elevating updated versions of old morality tales seems badly disconnected with the pressures and aspirations of today’s Chinese families.  More important and more relevant to senior care investors and operators, these morality plays seem to de-emphasize the role of the government to act instead of families.  The Times notes, “So far, those good intentions appear to have prompted mostly ridicule. But they have also unintentionally kicked up a debate on whether the government, not overextended children, should be looking after China’s ballooning population of retirees.”  All of the stories about China’s economic ascent can too easily gloss over the fact that many Chinese feel stressed out; additional pressures to take care of their parents when they feel the government should only add to their frustrations.

The most important point of the article is this:  Chinese society is marked today by a fundamental tension between traditions of filial piety and the economic and cultural aspirations of the newly minted Chinese middle class.  China’s millions of hard working citizens who either already are, or soon will be, middle class are not willing to shift gears and embrace historical obligations of filial piety.  This means several things:  they are not interested in using hard to get vacation days to go home.  They want to travel, to explore their own country and maybe even consider international trips.  They do not plan on moving back to the villages or rural areas where they came from and, in many cases, their elderly parents are equally reluctant to move to urban areas in order to live with their children.

Successful senior care operators in China are going to embrace these issues and build models that reflect the expectations and needs of both China’s consumers and customers.  Consequently, anticipate many real estate developers to emphasize mixed communities where parents and their adult children can live in proximity to one another, but not with one another.  Similarly, fee-for-service care that functions with or without proximity to adult children remains a sector I am very bullish on.  Companies that provide as-needed medical assistance, either in home or through specialized clinics or rehabilitation hospitals are going to do very well.  Anything that enables a Chinese family member to feel good and involved in the care of their elderly parents and grandparents at a distance is going to do well.  As a result, technology companies similar to Ankangtong (emergency call centers) are going to be low-cost ways to help Chinese families feel involved in the care of their parents even if they are cross-country from one another.

We know that filial piety norms change:  data evaluated from Chinese ex-pat communities in San Francisco, Toronto, Vancouver and Boston show that while parents want to be cared for by their children, they understand the pressures and aspirations of their children shape how much direct care the kids can contribute.  The business models that align cultural expectations around filial piety with high quality, even if limited, care at a distance are going to continue to drive China’s senior care industry.