for the support of their elderly parents" (Takaki 37). All household members were expected to obey the father and, in his absence, the eldest son.
Under the patriarchal system, women and children were considered second-class citizens. As author Jade Snow Wong noted in her two autobiographies, Chinese children, especially girls, were forced to adhere to strict sets of manners and were beaten or severely punished if they deviated from these rules of conduct. Snow Wong's father refused to finance her college attendance, although he readily paid his son's tuition. A clear preference for the rights of male children continues to pervade traditional Chinese households: "minority women are often caught in a double bind between their own needs and concerns as women and those of their Chinese American communities" (Ho 227).
The care of the elderly has always been a central feature of Chinese culture. Neglect of old people is considered not only a disgrace to the immediate family but a disgrace to the entire community as well. Most Chinese benevolent societies t
...