The Changes Of Chinese Rural Family Ethics Under The Background Of Social Transformation

China has been in the social transformation since the Opium War. The establishment of the New China has accelerated the social transformation, since the adoption of reform and opening up to the outside world in 1979,with the implementation of a series of national rural reform measures, especially entering the new 21st century, the new central collective leadership proceeded from the strategic height of national long-term development, upgrading the "agriculture-country-peasant issue" of vital significance in the Party work, launching many peasant-supported and peasant-benefited policies which liberates rural productivity and mobilizes peasants'productive initiatives, as well as generates such an particular group so-called immigrant workers, thus strikingly impacting rural family structure and relationship, coupled with rural family and family ethics is experiencing changes and transformation. Therefore, a series of transformation in rural family ethics may promote or hinder rural economic and social development to some extent. Given this, the research mainly concentrates on the changes of rural ethics under the background of social transformation.This research, based on referring to numerous related research literatures, selects a certain typical case of L village in North China and deepens the research through comprehensive literatures, interviews and fieldwork on the mutual interaction among family members in the important events of family life such as marriage, living apart, old-age support, etc. According to the survey findings from fieldwork and interviews, the author conducts a comprehensive observation and research on marriage, living apart and old-age support of L village, and further analyzes the notions and behaviors of family members in L village embodied in events such as marriage procedure and routine, raising marriage money, family changes brought about from marriage, the motive, content and process of living apart, the second-time living apart, the outcome of living apart, the traditional old-age support likes supply in turns, old-age support in new era, and the optional choices of old-age support.The research has drawn the following conclusions: First, the equal importance of independent marriage based on free choosing their spouses,along with the traditional marriage procedure and ritual, reflecting on the fusion of family-oriented value and individual-oriented value, and fully taking into account the liberal pursuit for emotion and marriage freedom of youth men and women, thus in some sense to thaw the conflict generated in the collision between tradition and modernity, which is conducive to maintaining family stability.Second, the economic rationality of market economy has eroded in the family ethics, along with the impact from consumptionism culture and blind comparison among villagers, particularly the rural prominent phenomenon of early marriage leading to the rapid increase of wedding expense that beyond the bearing of single family. Due to the influence of traditional family ethics, the family members assume responsibility and obligation of mutual assistance, generally the siblings will raise the large amounts of marriage expenses together, which may not only enhance the family feelings and interaction between parents and siblings, but also trigger the contradictions among family members.Third, the motive of peasants'living apart from family is complicated, when the wedding high expense becomes the burden, people generally focus on the land(especially the residence land)and house in the process of housing niche mobility, thus could lead to the tension and even the contradiction among parentages and brothers. However, the traditional filial piety is still the important factor to affect people's behavior and option. Owing to the different division of labor between men and women, men obtain the most and even the whole cash income of family, resulting in women's dependence to men economically and therefore, losing the right of speech during living apart from family.Fourth, the problems of rural family old-support are major in economic support, life caring and emotional consolation. With the impact of economic rationality, people pay much attention to the economic support while easily ignoring the life caring and emotional solicitude. Moreover, due to the increase of young and physically-strong migrant workers far away from family, women shoulder the major responsibility of caring and supporting the old-age. And the old those who are without losing the entire labor capacity will generally shoulder the obligation of patronizing grandchildren while they are cared by their children. Certainly, patronizing their grandchildren to some extent let the old enjoy family relationships, and in turn, make up for the deficiency of emotional attention from their children. The national rural pension system economically functions as rural old-age support in part, however, the important parts of life caring and emotional consolation are largely relied on traditional mode of family support. Meanwhile, some social organizations such as the rest home and the senior associations will play a certain role in rural old-age support.The research also thinks on how to strengthen the construction of rural family ethics.