CHINESE ELDERLY CULTURE
 

Respect towards parents, elders and an ancestor is considered a key value in Chinese society and culture. Confucius described old age as a ‘good and pleasant thing’ which caused you to be ‘gently shouldered off the stage, but given a comfortable front stall as spectator’. This honorable sentiment paints a melancholic image of how senior citizens should be treated, given peace in their twilight years while able freely to dispense their wisdom to younger generations.

What is Filial Piety?
In Confucian, Chinese Buddhist and Taoist, ethics, filial piety(Chinese: 孝, xiào)  is a virtue of respect for one's parents, elders, and ancestors. The Confucian Classic of Filial Piety, thought to be written around the Qin-Han period, has historically been the authoritative source on the Confucian tenet of filial piety.
 

Chinese families traditionally view filial piety and respect for one's elders as the highest virtue, deriving from the Confucian tradition. Although westernization has lessened the power of these values in some cities and communities, adult children are still generally expected to care for their parents in their old age.

In more general terms, filial piety means to be good to one's parents; to take care of one's parents; to engage in good conduct not just towards parents but also outside the home so as to bring a good name to one's parents and ancestors; to show love, respect and support; display courtesy; to ensure male heirs, uphold fraternity among brothers; wisely advise one's parents, including dissuading them from moral unrighteousness; display sorrow for their sickness and death; to bury them and carry out sacrifices after their death.

Filial piety is considered a key virtue in Chinese and other East Asian cultures, and it is the main subject of a large number of stories. One of the most famous collections of such stories is The Twenty-four Cases of Filial Piety (Chinese: 二十四孝; pinyin: Ershi-si xiao). These stories depict how children exercised their filial piety in the past. While China has always had a diversity of religious beliefs, filial piety has been common to almost all of them; historian Hugh D.R. Baker calls respect for the family the only element common to almost all Chinese people.