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Respect for Elders: Myths and Realities in East Asia

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Journal of Aging and Identity

Abstract

The trend in East Asia from authoritarian and patriarchal relationships to egalitarian and reciprocal patterns of mutual respect between generations is eroding the willingness of younger generations to respect the elderly in traditional ways. Have the Confucian teachings on respect for elders become myths? This article reviews traditional ways of treating parents and elders prescribed in Confucian literature and examines how they are expressed in modern times.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Social Work, USA

    Kyu-taik Sung

  2. E. P. Andrus Gerontology Center, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, 90089-0411

    Kyu-taik Sung

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  1. Kyu-taik Sung
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Sung, Kt. Respect for Elders: Myths and Realities in East Asia. Journal of Aging and Identity 5, 197–205 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1026445420276

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