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‘It’s like a double-edged sword’: understanding Confucianism’s role in activity participation among first-generation older Chinese migrants in the Netherlands and Belgium

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Abstract

While activity participation in later life has attracted considerable attention from policymakers and scholars, indoor and outdoor engagement among older Chinese migrants in Europe is understudied. Using in-depth interviews with 21 older Chinese migrants in the Netherlands and seven in Belgium, this study is among the first to explore older Chinese migrants’ activity participation experiences from the perspective of Confucianism, the cornerstone of Chinese culture. More specifically, the impact of four acknowledged principles of Confucianism are considered: hierarchical relationships, family system, benevolence and emphasis on education. The findings show that, like a double-edged sword, these four principles have positive and negative effects on older Chinese migrants’ activity participation. Hierarchical relationships promote formal organisational participation, yet concurrently dividing the Chinese community into smaller subgroups and endangering solidarity within the community. With regard to family system, which emphasizes intergenerational responsibility and obligation, older Confucianist migrants prioritise taking care of their grandchildren, resulting in less time to participate in outdoor activities. Benevolence, the third principle of Confucianism, restrains older Chinese migrants from political participation while encouraging them to attend community meetings where food is shared. Lastly, emphasis on education, of which self-cultivation is an important aspect, helps older Chinese migrants overcome feelings of loneliness and makes them prefer self-learning activity above formal learning settings (e.g. language learning) organised by the government. The article ends with policy recommendations on how to increase older Chinese migrants’ outdoor activities.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank all the interviewees who participated in the research.

Funding

This study was funded by China Scholarship Council (grant number 201506360099).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Pleinlaan 2, 1050, Brussels, Belgium

    Honghui Pan, Renfeng Wang, Sarah Dury & Liesbeth De Donder

  2. Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute (NIDI)- KNAW/University of Groningen, Lange Houtstraat 19, 2511 CV, The Hague, The Netherlands

    Tineke Fokkema

  3. Department of Public Administration and Sociology, Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

    Tineke Fokkema

  4. Xi’an International Studies University, Xi’an, 710128, China

    Renfeng Wang

  5. Research Foundation Flanders (FWO), Egmontstraat 5, 1000, Brussels, Belgium

    Sarah Dury

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  1. Honghui Pan
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Correspondence to Honghui Pan.

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Pan, H., Fokkema, T., Wang, R. et al. ‘It’s like a double-edged sword’: understanding Confucianism’s role in activity participation among first-generation older Chinese migrants in the Netherlands and Belgium. J Cross Cult Gerontol 36, 229–252 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10823-021-09435-x

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