Revisiting the father-son conflicts in Chinese families from a cultural lens: Implications for family-centered practice in Chinese societies

Abstract

A Chinese proverb reads "Wu Chou Bu Cheng Fu Zi"—無仇不成父子 (hatred bonds the father and his son). This well describes many of the father-son struggles found in clinical cases in Chinese families where the son rejects the father, who tries his best to get along with the son. The explanation for this phenomenon can be found in the field of family therapy (Bowen, 1976, 1985; Minuchin, 1996, 1993), which states that the son is being triangulated in the marital conflict and allied with the mother. However, there is no comprehensive account of the issue of father-son conflict and its inconsistency with classical Chinese concepts such as filial piety. This gap in the research can be addressed with interviews of Chinese families in a clinical context, in which the concept of family justice (大義滅親) can be deduced. This article not only unearths the concept of family justice in Chinese families, which hitherto has been rather hidden (Hall,1990), but also prepares that way to continue the research practice of conducting family interview on Chinese families. Through such conceptual discussions, classical concepts in Chinese culture can be recalled, and strategies for indigenous Chinese family therapy can be cultivated.