Meal and residence rotation of elderly parents in contemporary rural northern China

Abstract

This study examines the shared caregiving responsibilities of adult children in the form of long-existing practice of meal and residence rotation of elderly parents in rural China in the post-reform era. Based on the analysis of qualitative data collected in two northern Chinese villages in 2007, the study goes beyond the usual focus on inter-generational relations and a discussion of living arrangements at a particular point in time, and it stresses the role of intra-generational relations in mediating inter-generational relations and shaping arrangements for care of the elderly. The study demonstrates that adult sons as well as daughters-in-law play important roles in negotiating elderly care arrangements. It argues that the new economic restructuring reshapes both inter- and intra-generational relations, with members of the younger generation actively negotiating among themselves and with their elderly parents to fulfill their perceived cultural roles in elderly care.