Ageing, migration and familial support in rural China
Ageing, migration and familial support in rural China
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DOI：
10.1016/j.geoforum.2013.04.013
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发表时间：
2014-01-01
期刊：
影响因子：
3.5
通讯作者：
Liu, Jieyu
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Liu, Jieyu
在经济改革的加速下，自20世纪90年代以来，中国发生了大规模的年轻劳动力从农村向城市迁移。这使许多成年子女与年迈的父母分离，并对农村老年人家庭支助的传统模式构成重大挑战。在中国农村，老年人被剥夺了城市居民享有的国家养老金和其他福利，这一事实加剧了这些挑战。利用中国农村老龄化项目的定性数据，本文考察了老年人及其家庭在应对经济活动人口向城市迁移所造成的地理分离方面的作用。通过对一个乡村九户家庭多代人的32次生活史访谈，本文揭示了经历过迁移的农村家庭的复原力和灵活性，并突出了家庭日常策略中相互依存的网络。它展示了不同地理位置的家庭成员如何共同努力建立和维持家庭的集体福利。这篇文章特别指出，如果认为移民对留下来的老一代总是有害的，那就过于简单化了。与中国一些移民研究和老龄化文献中的假设相反，它表明，这是相互依存和互惠网络的崩溃，而不是移民事件，将对家庭中老年人的老年护理产生不可避免的负面影响。此外，在强调家庭的重要性的同时，本文揭示了家庭内部的动态。它确定了性别在日常家务中的作用，并表明主要由妇女发挥的照顾、支持和保持亲属关系的作用在确保社会和世代生育方面发挥了关键作用。文章发现，虽然女儿们在赡养老人方面承担了一些传统上由她们的兄弟姐妹承担的责任，但农村性别惯例和传统的持续存在使儿子们获得了更多的象征地位和物质利益。(C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd.版权所有。
Accelerated by economic reforms, a large scale migration of younger workers from rural to urban China has taken place since the 1990s. This has separated many adult children from their ageing parents and imposed significant challenges on traditional patterns of familial support for rural older people. These challenges are augmented by the fact that in rural China the elderly have been deprived a state pension and other welfare provisions available to urban residents.Drawing upon qualitative data from a project on ageing in rural China, this article examines the agency of older people and their families in responding to geographical separation resulting from the migration of the economically active to the cities. Through 32 life history interviews with multiple generations of nine households in one rural village, this article sheds light on the resilience and flexibility of rural households which have experienced migration and highlights the webs of interdependence that feature in the daily strategies of householding. It shows how members of the household across different geographical locations worked together to build and maintain the collective welfare of the family. In particular, this article argues that it would be over simplistic to suggest that migration is always detrimental to the older generation who stay behind. Contrary to assumptions in some migration studies and ageing literature in China, it shows that it is the breakdown of the webs of interdependence and reciprocity rather than the event of migration that will have inevitable negative effects upon old age care for the seniors in the household. Further, while highlighting the significance of householding, this article reveals the internal dynamics within a household. It identifies the role of gender in daily householding and suggests that the caring, supportive and kin-keeping roles performed mainly by women played a critical role in ensuring social and physical reproduction across generations. The article finds that while daughters took over some responsibilities which were traditionally expected from their brothers and sisters-in-law in old age support, the persistence of gendered practices and traditions in rural villages allowed sons more symbolic status and material benefits. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.