 |
| "Respect," by Julie Tián. |
Artist's Note
Respect is without a doubt one of the first things I was taught by my family growing up, specifically in the context of respecting parents, elders, and those of an older generation than your own. It’s a key teaching in Confucian philosophy, which was imposed as the basis for social and ethical practice in around 100 B.C. when the Han ethnic group ruled China. This teaching is still deeply ingrained in the way Chinese society and families operate today, even though China is composed of 56 official ethnic groups.
To me, this teaching has become such an unshakeable requirement that it limits so much of what younger generations are allowed to do with their own lives. As obvious as it is to respect elders, when elders are taught that old age signifies entitlement to be always respected, they do not give as much respect as they receive.
In the Seven Grandparent Teachings, respect is about respecting the balance and the needs of others and doing no harm. One giving respect should be respected in return. However, the respect I’m familiar with has come to mean you cannot challenge, speak your own opinion, or point out faults in people of older generations.
I’m very grateful to my grandmother for taking care of me when I was a child. However, as I get older, I start to see ways in which she demands respect but does not give it back in return. It’s difficult to reconcile warm memories of childhood summers and winters spent with my grandparents, the gratitude I feel towards them, with the needless pain and harm that exists in my family because of this obligatory and one-sided respect. I hope to be able to redefine this kind of respect I was taught and remind myself that I am also deserving of genuine respect.
Respect is without a doubt one of the first things I was taught by my family growing up, specifically in the context of respecting parents, elders, and those of an older generation than your own. It’s a key teaching in Confucian philosophy, which was imposed as the basis for social and ethical practice in around 100 B.C. when the Han ethnic group ruled China. This teaching is still deeply ingrained in the way Chinese society and families operate today, even though China is composed of 56 official ethnic groups.
To me, this teaching has become such an unshakeable requirement that it limits so much of what younger generations are allowed to do with their own lives. As obvious as it is to respect elders, when elders are taught that old age signifies entitlement to be always respected, they do not give as much respect as they receive.
In the Seven Grandparent Teachings, respect is about respecting the balance and the needs of others and doing no harm. One giving respect should be respected in return. However, the respect I’m familiar with has come to mean you cannot challenge, speak your own opinion, or point out faults in people of older generations.
I’m very grateful to my grandmother for taking care of me when I was a child. However, as I get older, I start to see ways in which she demands respect but does not give it back in return. It’s difficult to reconcile warm memories of childhood summers and winters spent with my grandparents, the gratitude I feel towards them, with the needless pain and harm that exists in my family because of this obligatory and one-sided respect. I hope to be able to redefine this kind of respect I was taught and remind myself that I am also deserving of genuine respect.