Comments on: Happy Father’s Day http://www.froginawell.net/china/2006/06/happy-fathers-day/ The China History Group Blog Mon, 15 Mar 2010 02:40:25 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 hourly 1 By: Frog in a Well - The China History Group Blog http://www.froginawell.net/china/2006/06/happy-fathers-day/comment-page-1/#comment-134691 Frog in a Well - The China History Group Blog Fri, 28 Nov 2008 13:42:18 +0000 http://www.froginawell.net/china/2006/06/happy-fathers-day/#comment-134691 [...] holiday Thanksgiving into China. Some foreign holidays fit well with Chinese culture, like Father’s Day. Christmas of course is starting to become a world holiday in part because it celebrates the modern [...] [...] holiday Thanksgiving into China. Some foreign holidays fit well with Chinese culture, like Father’s Day. Christmas of course is starting to become a world holiday in part because it celebrates the modern [...]

]]> By: J Chan http://www.froginawell.net/china/2006/06/happy-fathers-day/comment-page-1/#comment-3273 J Chan Wed, 02 Aug 2006 11:42:58 +0000 http://www.froginawell.net/china/2006/06/happy-fathers-day/#comment-3273 'Although the nature of the Chinese family changed a lot between the time of Yen Chih-t’ui (531-591 CE) and the present, but even in modern China a father is supposed to be pretty distant and disciplinarian.' This is a very inaccurate, racial stereotypical view from somebody who has no understanding of human society. The writings quoted referred to the literary class (a minority of the then population) and not the Chinese people. As a son and a father myself, I can see no justification for such a view of Chinese societies past and present. Was/ Is the Chinese father any more distant and disciplinarian with his offspring than any fathers of other contemporary races? I believe the answer is no, and if anything an 'average' Chinese father is probably more close to his offspring than his counterpart in other races. Take current UK society. Close to a third of children are now born to single mothers. That is to say, the father is not simply distant, he is absent!!! I believe this proportion is exceeded by several sections of contemporary US society. As yet this has not happened in Chinese societies in any country. Most fathers, in any society, are now perceived to be distant with regards to their children's upbringing, because of the long hours they have to put in to make a living. What of historic comparisons between the Chinese father and other contemporary cultures? For example take the historic Jewish father compared to the Chinese father. Abraham was prepared to kill his offspring as a sacrifice. That is to say he was prepared to commit infanticide. What sort of father was he? Did the story simply point at Abraham or was it the culture of the entire Jewish population of the time? Was this just a one-off story or were all contemporary Jewish fathers of the like mind? Does a modern Jewish father share the same thought? What of the Roman father or the ancient Greek father, or a Viking father? What of an African father, ancient and present? The assumption of Mao's relationship with his father as quoted, is simply naive. What of the relationship between Bill Clinton and his father or stepfather? What of the relationship between Britain's Prince Charles and his father? These people are not Chinese, so why were their relationships distant? Does having rocky relationships between father and son have anything to do with being Chinese? NO!!! ‘Although the nature of the Chinese family changed a lot between the time of Yen Chih-t’ui (531-591 CE) and the present, but even in modern China a father is supposed to be pretty distant and disciplinarian.’

This is a very inaccurate, racial stereotypical view from somebody who has no understanding of human society. The writings quoted referred to the literary class (a minority of the then population) and not the Chinese people.

As a son and a father myself, I can see no justification for such a view of Chinese societies past and present. Was/ Is the Chinese father any more distant and disciplinarian with his offspring than any fathers of other contemporary races? I believe the answer is no, and if anything an ‘average’ Chinese father is probably more close to his offspring than his counterpart in other races. Take current UK society. Close to a third of children are now born to single mothers. That is to say, the father is not simply distant, he is absent!!! I believe this proportion is exceeded by several sections of contemporary US society. As yet this has not happened in Chinese societies in any country. Most fathers, in any society, are now perceived to be distant with regards to their children’s upbringing, because of the long hours they have to put in to make a living.

What of historic comparisons between the Chinese father and other contemporary cultures? For example take the historic Jewish father compared to the Chinese father. Abraham was prepared to kill his offspring as a sacrifice. That is to say he was prepared to commit infanticide. What sort of father was he? Did the story simply point at Abraham or was it the culture of the entire Jewish population of the time? Was this just a one-off story or were all contemporary Jewish fathers of the like mind? Does a modern Jewish father share the same thought? What of the Roman father or the ancient Greek father, or a Viking father? What of an African father, ancient and present?

The assumption of Mao’s relationship with his father as quoted, is simply naive. What of the relationship between Bill Clinton and his father or stepfather? What of the relationship between Britain’s Prince Charles and his father? These people are not Chinese, so why were their relationships distant?

Does having rocky relationships between father and son have anything to do with being Chinese? NO!!!

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