The Culture Of Respecting The Elderly In The Suzhou Area In The Ming And Qing Dynasties

Since ancient times, respecting the elderly and caring for the young is not only an important part of the traditional Confucian ritual, but also a far-reaching traditional virtue in China. Such a traditional virtue has been advocated and implemented by successive governors. From the emperor down to the poor people, they all live up to the traditional virtues without exception. During Ming and Qing dynasties, the governors advocate to inherit the outstanding cultural achievements of respecting the elderly and caring for the young from the former generations and further develop its connotation. Therefore, Ming and Qing dynasties become the synthesizer of the culture of respecting the elderly and caring for the young. At that period, as an economically developed and culturally developed region, Suzhou adheres to the guiding ideology of "to administer the country with filial piety", when adjusting measures to local conditions. Therefore, the cultural tradition of respecting and caring for the elderly has been effectively practiced in Suzhou.Based on the local chronicles of Suzhou during Ming-Qing Dynasties, this thesis interprets the culture of "respecting and caring for the elderly", mainly from the institutes, Yangji Hall and Puji Hall, taking care of the elderly parents and the birthday tradition and so on. Meanwhile, the national policies of this period on "respecting and caring for the elderly "are taken into consideration as important resources of textual research. Such filial culture in Suzhou has its own characteristics: regional difference; high standard and few beneficiaries; self-contained policies, the combination of respecting and caring for and the Omni-bearing services. The thesis aims at inspiring rewarding lessons for solving the current aging problem in China by researching the culture of "respecting and caring for the elderly" in Suzhou.