oo busy queuing up for their children.

In much the same way, they would sacrifice their own interests for the happiness of their offspring.

A 1990 survey in Bengbu, Anhui Province, found 62 per cent of the younger families owned colour TV sets; compared with 23 per cent in older families.

While 61 per cent of younger families possessed refrigerators and 80 per cent had washing machines, relevant percentages from the older families were 19 and 35.

Apart from the older generation's habitual thriftiness, the survey said the aged spend much income on their children. Their savings were further diminished by entertaining their extended families on holidav.

In Tianjin, a survey of 100 newly-weds found expenditure for the occasion averaged 11, 380 yuan ( $ 2, 147 ) . Among them, 93 per cent were "sponsored,?by parents, partiaily or totally.

That explains, to a large degree, why the homes of most Chinese parents are rather plain, with furniture bought in the 1950s and 1960s. In sharp contrast, the homes of young couples display matching furniture, video cassettes and audio systems. Therr houses are usually carpeted and decorated with wallpaper.

When young people do not have houses of their own upon marriage, their parents readily give up the best space in the house, and retreat to smaller north-facing rooms.

When grandchildren are born, many grandparents volunteer to be baby-sitters, caring for and bringing up the third generation without complaint.

This "piety" towards sons and daughters is very moving indeed. But I can't help thinking that it is more natural for children to leave their parents and live on their own as is the practice in other countries.In this way, children can better develop the habit of working and living independently. The older generation, on the other hand, can enjoy their later years in a more relaxed way.

Occasionally, parents may extend financial help to their children if the latter are really in need of it. But they need not lavish care on their grown-up children. It is the children who should practise the virtue of being filial to their old parents. In this way, society would follow a more healthy path of development.

　

4. Bringing up Children

[Extract from an interview.]

"One reason why the family unit is crumbling is that parents have relinquished their authority over children. The permissive school of thought says, "Let the child do what he wants to when he wants to, no matter what it is, don't warp his pecsonality, don't thwart him, you'll ruin him for life.?Because of this we've got a generation of spoilt selfcentred brats with no respect for their elders. Children always push to see how much they can get away with; if you give them nothing to push against, there are no moral limits,no moral convictions will develop in the children. We have this in the schools-children have much less respect for their teachers nowadays. "

How do you define respect?

"Realizing that someone else might have desires also. Respect doesn't mean that when someone in authority says "jump" you jump--that's the military approach-but young people today, if they have an opinion that's different from yours, then you re the fool and the re right, even if they don't have enough experience to judge."

How do you feel about children using stwearwords?

"I never hear them swear, but I saw one of my daughter's diaries and it

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