Known for a tradition of Confucian filial piety, East Asian societies
have some of the oldest and most rapidly aging populations on earth.
Today these societies are experiencing unprecedented social challenges
to the filial tradition of adult children caring for aging parents at
home. Marshalling mixed methods data, this volume explores the
complexities of aging and caregiving in contemporary East Asia.
Questioning romantic visions of a senior's paradise, chapters examine
emerging cultural meanings of and social responses to population aging,
including caregiving both for and by the elderly. Themes include
traditional ideals versus contemporary realities, the role of the state,
patterns of familial and non-familial care, social stratification, and
intersections of caregiving and death. Drawing on ethnographic,
demographic, policy, archival, and media data, the authors trace both
common patterns and diverging trends across China, Hong Kong, Taiwan,
Singapore, Japan, and Korea.