Ageing in contemporary China : The Ziran approach

Journal article


Qi, Xiaoying. (2021). Ageing in contemporary China : The Ziran approach. Journal of Gender Studies. 30(5), pp. 584-595. https://doi.org/10.1080/09589236.2021.1929092
AuthorsQi, Xiaoying
Abstract

Based on in-depth semi-structured interviews with older women and men in two cities in mainland China, this article reports respondents’ experiences of ageing. Interviewees’ attitudes to health and their changing bodies suggest an orientation unlike the ‘medicalization’ approach. They report personal strategies that navigate conditions of ongoing social and economic change by both drawing on and modifying traditional norms, including those related to filial obligation in their relations with adult children as well as to terminal disease and death. Practices of ‘getting old’ in contemporary China reshape gender norms and expectations. The examination of ageing reported here identifies the notion of ziran as an approach to ageing quite distinct from discourses frequently reported in the literature.

Keywordsanti-ageing; death; filial piety; social change; terminal disease
Year2021
JournalJournal of Gender Studies
Journal citation30 (5), pp. 584-595
PublisherRoutledge
ISSN1465-3869
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1080/09589236.2021.1929092
Scopus EID2-s2.0-85106232836
Research or scholarlyResearch
Page range584-595
Publisher's version
License
All rights reserved
File Access Level
Controlled
Output statusPublished
Publication dates
Online24 May 2021
Publication process dates
Accepted09 May 2021
Deposited26 Jul 2021
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