Here below listed are the important aspects about Unit Three.

A Short History of the Changing Family

The extended family: also called the joint family, a family with several generations living under the same roof. This family pattern was popular in old China when Chinese people thought it was necessary for the children to stay with their parents when they grew up so as to shoulder the responsibilities for the family and take good care of the ageing parents. A son who chose to move out from his family instead of living together with his parents would be considered as the black sheep of the family, who brought shame and disgrace not only to himself but more important to the whole family.

The nuclear family: a family of mother, father and their children. With the open-up of the world, people concepts are changing, especially their concepts of family. To the younger generation, the traditional extended family causes a lot of unexpected inconveniences in daily life. The generational gap becomes obvious and serious in their growing-up, as the younger generation feels their parents or grandparents cannot understand or appreciate their ideas, and the communication between them gets harder and harder with their growth.

Time with the Family—Past and Present

Eight hundred years was around the 1200s when England was under the reign 统治 of Queen Elizabeth I. The sharecropping system 佃农制was popular at that time as the country then was strictly ruled by a highly hierarchical system等级制度. At the top of the society was the leisure noble class that owned large areas of land and enjoyed privileges, while at the other end was the poor struggling peasants who had nothing of their own and was always placed under oppression and threat. The only fun they had, if that could be called real fun, was the talking, drinking and games that they could have at night after a tiring day.
Japanese concept of family is quite conservative, or traditional, a typical example of the patriarchal system 父权制. In their culture, the individual’s interests must obey the interest of the whole family. Therefore, personal sacrifice was a must. A hierarchy within the family had been long established. Children should listen to their parents and follow their order and arrangements without any consideration of their own liking or will. Wives should obey complex rules and virtues prescribed 规定by the tradition l and follow the leadership of their husband. The right place for women was the home, and their sole responsibility was to take care of the house and children while their husbands were outside working.

In the past before people moved into walled apartment buildings, they lived in close neighborhood, where they knew each other well and helped each other when in difficulties. Children from different families often played together, and adults often stopped to have a good and intimate chat with each other whenever they had time. The relationship and the atmosphere in the neighborhood were harmonious. People were nice and kind to each other as if they were family members. That’s why the author say that the community was like an extended family.