Becoming a Moral Child amidst China's Moral Crisis: Preschool Discourse and Practices of Sharing in Shanghai

Abstract

This article explores the moral development of Chinese children through the discrepancies between the ideologies and practices of adults and children. School educators and parents promote an egalitarian norm of sharing—“share with everyone”—in the hope of cultivating altruism and cooperation, values seen as a corrective to China's universally deplored “moral crisis.” By contrast, young children spontaneously engage in strategic sharing—“extend favors so others can help you”—in their everyday interactions. Such practices resonate with the adult norm of guanxi (exchange of favors) that is the object of ambivalent attitudes in modern Chinese discourse. This study combined ethnographic and experimental methods to examine children's spontaneous choices and their implication in current discourse, showing how the anthropology of childhood may contribute to a finer‐grained understanding of contemporary Chinese cultural dynamics as well as the conversation between psychological anthropology and developmental psychology on the emergence of prosocial dispositions in cultural processes.

Learning “Merit” in a Chinese Preschool: Bringing the Anthropological Perspective to Understanding Moral Development

“…This article expands from theoretical arguments in my previous works (Xu , 238; , 193–94) to provide an overarching meta‐understanding of moral development.…”

Tattling with Chinese Characteristics: Norm Sensitivity, Moral Anxiety, and “The Genuine Child”

“…That being said, teachers do make an effort to instill an altruistic spirit in the children through sharing activities, empathy education, and so on, to combat the "bad influence" from society or family, as family is seen as the place where singleton children are getting spoiled (Xu 2014(Xu , 2017. As part of this moral cultivation effort, teachers would praise what they see as an altruistic tattler.…”

“…The game itself is not relevant for the present article. But for more details about this game, see Xu (2014).…”

The discrepancy between macro culture and individual, lived psychology: An ethnographic example of Chinese moral behavior

“…The case of Chinese children's immorality Xu (2014) conducted an ethnography in Chinese schools to identify the psychological effects of moral training sessions. This research was inspired by the ''moral crisis'' in China that exists despite strong emphasis on collective morality that is evident in official propaganda and school exercises.…”

“…Despite this impressive command of the discourse, Wandou did not in fact bother to share with the other two children who were playing right next to him”. (Xu, 2014, p. 222)The tension between collective training and self-centered psychology is complex. In many cases, the pupils acted according to communal moral principles.…”