According to Chinese tradition, filial piety was the primary duty of all Chinese. Being a filial son meant complete obedience to one's parent

In recent years industrialization and urbanization have weakened the willingness of adult children to care for their elderly parents. The results of recent studies reveal that the Chinese adult children still value and practice filial piety in their day-to-day living. However, the way they express this cultural value has changed in the process of adapting to rapid and massive social changes. For instance many of them, due to job situation, schooling and needs to explore better opportunities, live separately from their elderly parents. In spite of this physical separation, most Chinese adult children strive to practice filial piety in terms of affection, responsibility, family harmony, repayment, sacrifice and so forth. By expressing and practicing these basic values using the telephone, letters, visitation and other tools for communication, they maintain close relationships with their elderly parents. The relationship between parents and adult children in China is transforming into a new type in which mutual respect and reciprocal care and support are considered more important than submission to the authority of the elderly.

Before 1911, the family was the most fundamental Chinese social unit. An individual was under the influence of his family that ruled by the father. The structures of the family represented the Confucian society: relation between father and son and husband and wife, family membership according to sex and age, parental control of married sons. Many conflicts and evils were created under this old traditional system.

The attitudes of the children towards the sacrifices they had to make were addressed in the Ba Chin's "Family". There are several characteristics can support above demonstration. Chueh-hsin, the oldest son in the family has to obey the rule of the family, not because he is weak but because he doesn't want to break the family apart.

Underneath the ideals of benevolent ruler, happy family, and long life, I believe that the young should respect the elders but strongly against the injustice of the Confucian code that imposes filial piety on children without granting them any right. The old should guide the young not control their lives. In Family, Chueh-hui at the other hand fights for his happiness. He violates the family code by fall in love with the bondmaid Ming-fen. He represents the typical figure of the young generation of the day, which willing fight for freedom and equal-right.

"The Chinese place great importance on filial piety; thus, ancestor worship is a central part of Chinese New Year activities. On the first day of the yea; one must loudly set off firecrackers, make an offering of red dates, winter melon and peanut candy and other confections before images of the gods, Buddha, and ancestral tablet, then the whole family worships the gods and ancestral spirits by burning paper money.

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Approximate Word count = 2106
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)