Contemporary Filiality and Popular Religion: An Ethnographic Study of Filiality Among Chinese University Students and their Parents

Abstract

Whether one opts to refer to it as filial piety, filial obedience, family reverence, and family feeling, or filiality, the concept of xiào 孝 has been widely studied throughout history. However, to this day, the religious dimension of xiào is far too often ignored. This article intends to demonstrate that beyond merely having a religious dimension to it, the very concept of xiào cannot be removed from the realm of Chinese popular religion. More specifically, this article constitutes an ethnographic examination of the beliefs and practices pertaining to xiào of undergraduate university students in Beijing. These beliefs and practices will be compared and contrasted with how xiào is regarded by the parents of these students. By demonstrating that xiào essentially constitutes a religious belief that has deep meaning and importance to all the interviewees of this study, this article adds to the growing corpus of scholarship that seeks to contrast the popular view that China is a deeply irreligious country. I will also assert that there is a notable generational difference in how xiào is conceived.

Keywords

• filial piety
• chinese popular religion
• chinese folk religion
• religion in china