The Adaptation Of Intergenerational Relationships In Rural Family To Modernity (1980-)

Taking intergenerational relationships in rural area of Jiangxi and Hubei provinces as the main object of reaserch,and using regional comparaison as the main methods of research, using five dimensions of intergenerational relationships as the main analyzing outline,this paper discuss the change of intergenerational relationships in rural family, in the background of social transformation. In order to reach further understanding on rural family and rural life in social structure-changing period, regional differences of intergenerational relationships change and the clue of intergenerational relationships' change will be emphasized.Through constructing exchange-dimension (including extent of balance, exchangeable deepness, exchangeable intensity) and values-dimension (including social value and religious value) of intergeneration relationships as this paper has provide effective analyzing tools of understanding and describing intergenerational relationships in rural area of China.Through describing the life course of farmer as individual, and studing on the intergenerational relationships according to its five dimensions,the paper shows the change of intergenerational relationships.In addition, through using regional comparaison, this paper shows the differences of adaptation of intergenerational relationships to modernity in rural family of Jiangxi and Hubei provinces. In particular, something occurred in every periods of the individual's life proves that there have been a great change of interacting process and modes of intergeneration relationships,from traditional society to mordern society.Parents authority of children's marriage tend to weak, while they have to assume more and more responsibility on children's marriage, especially the economic burden of marriage. After the wedding, it is likely that children always demand of dividion of family's property and living apart.While children get excessive interest through changing standards and custom of family-dividion, parents always are willing to admit the "legitimate" rights of children,and bear on the exploitation from children,and maintaining the disadvantage in family voluntarily in the process of dividing family's property,in order to take better living conditions for children. Contrat to parents'spirit of sacrifice, the substantial-feedback from children or family cares are scarcely and termitnately. Female progeny start to playing an important role in family cares, which is different from the customs-"raise children for retire safegurd".Big events and daily clashes occurred in intergenerational interacting show on the unbalanced, intensive,and nervous features of intergenerational relationships in exchange-dimension. Through studying farmers' motivation to giving birth, the secret point that which maintain unbalanced intergenerational relationships can be found-for valuable dimension of intergenerational relationships including social value and religion value works. Farmers pursuit of the meaning of life through finishing life tasks including bearing and rearing children and carrying on the family line. And these bring about re-balance of intergenerational relationships'imbalance in exchangeable dimension. Because of values-dimension of intergenerational relationships, intergencrational relationships which are imbalanced in exchange- dimension will exit and keep running balanced for a long time.There are obvious regional differences of Chinese rural family's intergenerational relationships. The reflection of five dimensions of intergenerational relationships in every period of farmer as individual shows obvious regional differences. Balanced intergenerational relationships in traditional society are out of balance in varying degrees in rural area of Jiangxi and Hubei provinces. The degrees of inbalance are more slighter in the area with stronger values-dimension of intergenerational relationships,and more serious in the area with slighter values-dimension of intergenerational relationships.These unbalanced extent of exchangeable dimension of intergenerational relationships is. It not only shows that there are some different changing modes of intergenerational relationships, but also challenges the old idea that intergenerational relationships change in single mode of being away from tradition and then adapting to modernity. Therefore, intergenerational relationships of rural family don't change in this linear-modale, but in multiple and complex modale wihle it's adapting to modernity.Some problems in rural society including intergenerational relationships'changing, serious crisis of family cares, and ethical crisis, to some extent, are relevant with the changing of values-dimension of intergencrational relationships,which shows the changing of farmers significance world.