Beyond Filial Piety: Rethinking Aging and Caregiving in Contemporary East Asian Societies

by Jeanne Shea (Editor), Katrina Moore (Editor), Hong Zhang (Editor)

Overview

Known for a tradition of Confucian filial piety, East Asian societies have some of the oldest and most rapidly aging populations on earth. Today these societies are experiencing unprecedented social challenges to the filial tradition of adult children caring for aging parents at home. Marshalling mixed methods data, this volume explores the complexities of aging and caregiving in contemporary East Asia. Questioning romantic visions of a senior’s paradise, chapters examine emerging cultural meanings of and social responses to population aging, including caregiving both for and by the elderly. Themes include traditional ideals versus contemporary realities, the role of the state, patterns of familial and non-familial care, social stratification, and intersections of caregiving and death. Drawing on ethnographic, demographic, policy, archival, and media data, the authors trace both common patterns and diverging trends across China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Japan, and Korea.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781800734470
Publisher:	Berghahn Books
Publication date:	04/08/2022
Series:	Life Course, Culture and Aging: Global Transformations , #6
Pages:	432
Sales rank:	815,489
Product dimensions:	9.00(w) x 6.00(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Jeanne Shea is Associate Professor of Anthropology and Director of the Health and Society Program and the Global Health Concentration in Anthropology at the University of Vermont. Recipient of a Fulbright Senior Scholar Research Award, she has published her research in many scholarly journals and edited volumes.

Katrina Moore is Honorary Associate in Japanese Studies, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, the University of Sydney.

Hong Zhang is Associate Professor of East Asian Studies at Colby College in Waterville, Maine. She is the recipient of many research grants, including a Fulbright Senior Scholar Research Award and Freeman Foundation grants and has published in numerous edited volumes and journals.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations
List of Tables
Acknowledgments
Notes on Text and Transliteration

Introduction
Jeanne Shea, Katrina Moore, and Hong Zhang

Part I: Aging and Caregiving in Chinese Contexts

Chapter 1. Old-Age Support in Rural China: Case Study of the Jiangxiang Model for Community-Based Filial Piety
Youcai Tang and Jeanne Shea

Chapter 2. Meanings of Spousal Eldercare in Life and Death in China
Jeanne Shea

Chapter 3. “Too Busy to Do Anything Else”: How Caregiving and Urban Sojourning Impact the Aging Experience of China’s Migrant Grandparents
Min Zhang

Chapter 4. Population Aging and Care of the Elderly in Hong Kong
Michelle Shum and Terry Lum

Chapter 5. Teach Me to Be Filial: Intergenerational Care in Singapore Families
Leng Leng Thang and Kalyani Mehta

Chapter 6. Constructing Networks of Elder Care across Borders: The Experiences of Taiwanese Immigrants in the US and Their Parents in the Homeland
Ken Chih-Yan Sun

Part II: Aging and Caregiving in Japanese Contexts

Chapter 7. Who Cares for the Elders? Aging, Independence, and Interdependence in Contemporary Japan
Katrina Moore

Chapter 8. “Son, I’ve Already Become a Mummy”: The Sociocultural Contexts of Missing Centenarians in Super-Aging Japan
Heekyoung Kim

Chapter 9. Rethinking Burden: Japanese Elder Care Careers from Helping to Grieving
Susan Long and Ruth Campbell

Part III: Aging and Caregiving in Korean Contexts

Chapter 10. “Without Feeling Guilty”: Filial Piety and Eldercare in Twenty-First-Century Korea:
Hyun Ji Lee and Kyong Hee Chee

Chapter 11. The Dynamics of Care in the Context of Limited Repatriation of Sakhalin Korean Elderly
Dorota Szawarska

Chapter 12. Expansion of End-of-Life Care Services in South Korea: A Qualitative Analysis of the Experiences of Family Caregivers and Hospice Staff
Sooyoun Han and Jeanne Shea

Conclusion: Contemporary Trends in and Future Directions for Aging and Caregiving in East Asian Societies
Jeanne Shea, Katrina Moore, and Hong Zhang

Appendix I: Historical Trends Noted in Ikels's Volume (2004) and This Volume
Appendix II: Topical/Thematic Coverage in Ikels's Volume (2004) and This Volume

Index

Editorial Reviews

“This volume is an extensive collection of ethnographies and qualitative studies…the collection successfully challenges the popular and academic romanticization of filial piety and caregiving in the East and also contributes to revealing the ways in which elders, families, and communities can reimagine traditional cultural values and actively respond to population aging. For this reason, I would recommend it to students, researchers, and practitioners in many fields, including East-Asian studies, social research on kinship and caregiving, anthropology of morality and ethics, anthropology, and gerontology.” • Anthropology and Aging

“This is a fascinating book which inspires us with new insights and deep thoughts. Through the description of the subjective practice of caregiving and the discourse of positive aging, the book has in fact come back to the essence of filial piety, focusing on subjectivity, dignity, love, responsibility, harmony and continuity in families, communities and the state, which is beyond social transformations and challenges of time.” • Asian Journal of Social Studies

“[This] is a highly commendable work of scholarship with wide appeal that will be an essential resource for anyone interested in the dynamic field of aging and care in East Asia. I learned a lot and would recommend it to anyone who is interested in East Asian society.” • Jason Danely, Oxford Brookes University

“This is an excellent volume that is particularly timely given the significant demographic challenges that East Asian societies are facing related to population aging and population decline. It is an outstanding collection by a group of excellent scholars.” • John Traphagan, University of Texas

“The editors describe their manuscript as in dialogue with my 2004 volume on filial piety. Much more than just a timely update, this is an excellent book” • Charlotte Ikels, Case Western Reserve University

From the Publisher