University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Understanding “Bao Xi Bu Bao You” in the Sharing of Emotion-Associated Personal Events in Chinese Families from the Perspective of Adult Children

Han, Ruohua

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/113659

Description

Title
Understanding “Bao Xi Bu Bao You” in the Sharing of Emotion-Associated Personal Events in Chinese Families from the Perspective of Adult Children
Author(s)
Han, Ruohua
Issue Date
2021
Keyword(s)
  • Family
  • Emotional information sharing
Abstract
“Bao Xi Bu Bao You” is a Chinese saying that means sharing information associated with positive emotions and withholding information associated with sadness or concern. This paper explores the decision-making practices of Chinese adults related to Bao Xi Bu Bao You in their sharing of current emotion-associated personal events with their parents. Based on semistructured interviews with thirty-two participants, the study illuminates the complexities of child-to-parent Bao Xi Bu Bao You activities by illustrating how they are shaped by decision-making processes that juggle several elements: expectations of reaction alignment/misalignment, utility, care, risk of boundary turbulence, and degree of seriousness/significance. Because the emotional quality of Xi (positive events) and You (sad/concerning events) are different, the elements are framed and approached in slightly different ways for decisions to share Xi and to withhold You, with some elements being particularly salient in certain contexts. Children balance self-oriented and parent-oriented considerations in decision making and actively adjust their personal events into “better-shared” or “better-avoided” Xi and You across time. Care, modesty, and Taoist dialectical passive-active transformations emerged as notable Chinese cultural elements that inform Bao Xi Bu Bao You and shed light on the rich cultural meanings attached to such practices.
Publisher
Johns Hopkins University Press and the Illinois School of Information Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Series/Report Name or Number
Library Trends 70 (2). Fall 2021
ISSN
0024-2594
Type of Resource
text
Language
en
Permalink
http://hdl.handle.net/2142/113659
DOI
10.1353/lib.2021.0021
Copyright and License Information
Copyright 2021 Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois

Owning Collections

Library Trends 70 (2) Fall 2021: Family Matters: Mapping Information Phenomena within the Context of the Family PRIMARY
Library Trends 70 (2) Fall 2021: Family Matters: Mapping Information Phenomena within the Context of the Family. Edited by Nicole K. Dalmer and Sarah Barriage.