Care Work, Migrant Peasant Families and Discourse of Filial Piety in China

"In this book, Associate Professor Longtao He conducted a marvelous research on migrant peasant workers' caregiving experiences in relation to filial piety in China. His research not only sheds light on a more comprehensive understanding towards migrant peasant workers' complex experiences of caregiving for parents with advanced cancer in China, but also involves methodological innovations in developing a culturally integrated Foucauldian discourse analysis suitable for Chinese matters. The developed theoretical and methodological framework in his book is meaningful well beyond the domain of the Chinese cultural context; it has a great potential to contribute to the continuing refinement of Foucauldian discourse analysis as a qualitative methodology." - Professor Huamin Peng (Vice-president of China Association of Social Work Education), Department of Social Work and Social Policy, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China This book examines the experiences of migrant peasant workers in China who care for parents diagnosed with cancer and explores to what extent contextual changes after the economic reform initiated in 1978 affected practices and experiences of caring. In his own attempt to develop a localized methodology, the author considers identifying similarities between Chinese philosophies and Foucault's theories as the key step for localizing Foucauldian discourse analysis. Three similarities are located and articulated with regard to filial care. Firstly, the complexity of discursive relations identified by Foucault resembles the complicated Chinese notion of the relationality of the self. Secondly, both sides have a tendency to look back to ancient times for solutions and to critique the notion of 'progress' in modernity. For Foucault, the way to attain freedom or agency is through technologies of the self, such as speaking truth (parrhesia). Lastly, both value action and practice in their theories. The book then analyzes, through this localized methodological approach, statements made by migrant peasant workers to take readers through their discursive mechanisms to construct filial piety in relation to their subjective care experiences. Longtao He is an associate professor in medical sociology and social work at SWUFE, China. He has published numerous articles in journals such as Qualitative Health Research, British Journal of Social Work, and European Journal of Ageing. His research interests include qualitative health sociology, health social work, and ethics Foreword Acknowledgements Contents About the Author 1 The Care Burden of Chinese Migrant Peasant Workers Introduction Increasing Need for Care of Elderly Cancer Patients in China Informal Care Insufficient Welfare System Provisions for Rural Families Pension Schemes Social and Health Insurance in Rural China Other Governmental Support Policies The Burden of Care for Informal Caregivers Decline in Care Practice and Governmental Response Conclusion References 2 A Historical Trajectory of Filial Piety Introduction Eastern Zhou Dynasty, Spring and Autumn Period and Warring States Period, and the Contention of a Hundred Schools of Thought (770–221 BCE) Confucianism Taoism From the Song to the Qing Dynasty (960–1912 CE) Neo-Confucianism Wrongdoing/Negative Effects of Neo-Confucianism and Filial Piety From the End of the Qing Dynasty (Late Nineteenth Century) to the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976) New Culture Movement (1910s–1920s) and New Confucianism (from the Early Twentieth Century) New Confucianism From the People’s Republic of China to Economic Reform in 1978 The Great Leap Forward (1958–1962) and the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976) Autonomous Individual Propaganda and the Modernisation Project Filial Piety After Economic Reform (1978) (Neoliberal) Contextual Changes in Relation to the Perceived Decline of Filial Piety Neoliberalism as Culprit? The Government’s Response to Claims of Diminishing Filial Piety: Re-Embracing Chinese Traditional Cultural Norms and the Parent-Visiting Law Conclusion References 3 Research on Care and Filial Piety in China and Lack of ‘Localised’ Theoretical Grounding Introduction A Review of Existing Research on Filial Care Care and the Concept of Filial Piety in Relation to Care Lack of Qualitative Data Limited Literature on Caregivers and Migrant Peasant Workers as Caregivers Lack of Historical (Genealogical) Analysis During the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution Theoretical Developments Around Filial Piety Modernisation Theory and Filial Piety Theories on Intergenerational Relationships Discourse Analysis and Filial Piety A Theoretical and Methodological Debate Between Western and Chinese Approaches to Research The History of Sociology in China: Underdevelopment of Localised Sociology Development of ‘Localising’ Sociological Theories and Methodologies in Recent Years Conclusion References 4 Foucault and Chinese Traditional Philosophies (Confucianism) Introduction Foucault’s Theory in Relation to Filial Piety Discourse (and Power) Power and Governmental Discourse Archaeology and Genealogy Subjectivity, Genealogy, and Discourse of Filial Piety Disciplinary Power of Neo-Confucianism Foucault and Chinese Philosophies Complexity of Relationality The Pragmatic Nature of Chinese Philosophies and Foucault Looking Back and Care of the Self Conclusion References 5 The Path to a Culturally Integrated Foucauldian Discourse Analysis Introduction Research Questions and Objectives Qualitative Research and Social Constructionist Underpinning Qualitative Research Social Constructionist Underpinning Methodological Decisions Foucauldian Discourse Analysis and Critical Discourse Analysis Approaches to Foucauldian Discourse Analysis Chinese Epistemological Positioning Research Design Participant Inclusion Criteria Site Selection Recruitment Data Collection Methods Interviews Survey Questionnaire Observation and Field Notes Policy Documents and News Reports Ethics and Informed Consent Anticipated and Unanticipated Issues Gender Issue Positionality: Beyond Insider and Outsider Dualities Self-Reflexivity During Data Collection Procedures Data Analysis Conclusion References 6 Findings: The Burden of Care for Migrant Peasant Workers and Filial Piety’s Mediating Roles Introduction Different Forms of Care Impacts Emotional and Physical Impact of Care Financial Impact of Care Work-Related Impact Unfinished Care and Its Impact Gender Differences in Caregiving and Care Impacts Care Responsibilities or Burdens? Filial Piety as a Resource for Dealing with the Various Care Impacts and Burdens Filial Piety as a Hindrance for Dealing with the Various Care Impacts and Burdens Filial Piety as Emotional Hindrance Discourse of Secrecy Conclusion References 7 Parental Sacrifice Discourse Introduction Structural Changes and Power Shift Maintained Filial Practices Discourse of Eat and Dress Well Discourse of Tianjingdiyi Presence of Filial Perception and Filial Practice Emerging Theme: Sacrifice Personal Gain Reciprocity Respect, Fear, Regret and Guilt, Love, Gratitude, and Sacrifice Other Forms of Parental Sacrifice Conclusion References 8 Intertwined Discourse of Parental Sacrifice and Forgetting Introduction Filial Forgetting Remembering and Forgetting Parental Sacrifice Forgetting Different Trajectories of Filial Piety That Which Has Been Forgotten Interlinkage Between Forgetting and Parent Sacrifice Forgetting for Different Generations Complexity of the Discursive Construction of Filial Piety by Different Generations Complexity of Forgetting Political and Public Forgetting Changing the Political Discourse of the ‘Peasant’ ‘Parent-Visiting Law’: Law Versus Morality Lack of Workability and Usefulness of the ‘Parent-Visiting Law’ Conclusion References 9 Migrant Peasant Workers’ Care Experiences in Relation to the Three Conceptual Similarities Between Foucauldian and Chinese Philosophies Introduction The First Research Question: How Do Chinese Migrant Workers Make Sense of Caring for Parents with Cancer? A Discursive Focus on the Period of the GLF and the CR Complexity of Discourse of Filial Piety Action/Practice-Oriented Discursiveness and Its Importance The Second Research Question: How Are Chinese Migrant Workers Affected by Changes in Discourses of Filial Piety in Current Chinese Society? A Way Forward for China’s Ageing Population and Family Caregiving Time to Remember? Cultivation of the Self (Parrhesia) Conclusion References 10 Conclusion Introduction Research Questions and Findings Research Questions Care Responsibilities and Burden in Relation to the Discourses of Filial Piety Discourses of Parental Sacrifice and Forgetting Pragmatic Element of Discourse of Filial Piety Complexity of the Discourse of Filial Piety Change in Discourse of Filial Piety Implications and Significance of My Research A Way Forward for Filial Discourse Research Significance Implications and Recommendations for Policies and Future Research Possibilities Action/Practice and Implications for Future Policies Theoretical Implications Future Research into Gender and Spirituality Conclusion References