Chapter 11 Three Discourses on Neo-Familism
In: Chinese Families Upside Down: Intergenerational Dynamics and Neo-Familism in the Early 21st CenturySearch for other papers by Yunxiang Yan in
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Abstract
This chapter takes a closer look at three types of neo-familism. The first is the popular discourse that emphasize the family as the only reliable resource for ordinary people to cope with the increasingly competitive, risky and precarious work place in particular and social life in general. The second is the official discourse by which the party-state redefines the family as a site of governance and incorporates familism into patriotism. The intellectual discourse of neo-familism is the third variation that invokes familism as a cultural capital to resist Western individualism and to construct a Chinese path to modernity. Their differences and interactions are examined in the concluding section.