China's Honor Code

BEIJING — "You don't call. You never write. You won't eat my dumplings anymore!"

Chinese mothers will not have to utter those words again if the powers that be have their way.

In Shanghai, the Nanjing East Road Neighborhood Committee recently took to public shaming to ensure that people attend to their aging parents. Anyone who doesn't visit at least once every three months faces having his or her name posted on a community signboard.

Members of a nearby senior community announced a different approach: They would fine offspring $5 if they didn't invite their parents home for Chinese New Year.

And then there's the Chinese government itself: Shirkers face five years in prison for failing to support or take care of their parents.

In the battle to safeguard the tradition of filial piety, China's social watchdogs are employing many weapons: shame, fines, bribery, guilt and flattery.

Respect for parents and clan elders has been a cornerstone of Chinese culture for thousands of years, part of a defining social contract in which parents cared for their children while they were young and children supported their parents in their dotage.

But something happened on the way to the 21st century. The fundamental glue that bound generations through dynasties, wars and famines started coming unstuck in the face of rapid economic and social change. Add it up, traditionalists fear, and the very definition of what it means to be Chinese is under threat.

Perhaps only in China will you find best-child contests. Wang Xinjun, 47, a resident of the central province of Shanxi, beams with pride. She was recently named a Model Filial Daughter-in-Law of the year, one of eight selected from her community.

Although she acknowledges having a few fights with her mother-in-law early on, she has cheerfully cared for her father-in-law, two disabled siblings, three children and a nephew for two decades. She won a $60 prize and hopes to compete in next year's county-level filial finals.

Grabbing the national spotlight can be a bit more difficult: China Person of the Year recipient Tian Shiguo gave his mother one of his kidneys without telling her it was his.

"My contribution to my mother does not compare to what she has given me," the Guangzhou lawyer told reporters.