Abstract
Zhen was delighted that her fourth child was a son. Traditionally, fathers want their first son to learn their trade from them. As Cheng was a vet, when Chun was 12, he started working with his father after school. Chun took over the role of village vet from his father and went on to study at the veterinary college. Later he introduced many new practices that continue to help the local farmers. The chapter explores the way that veterinary training has developed in the countryside. After he married Lan, as the first son he took over responsibility as head of the family. However, like many couples, especially those with a government job like Chun, they faced problems with the one-child policy.
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Notes
- 1.
Mencius Readings – 4A.26 Mencius said, “There are three forms of unfiliality, and bearing no heirs is the worst.” Opinions are mixed as to what Mencius could have been referring to as the other two forms.
- 2.
The system of employment from the 1950s was known as the “iron rice bowl”, centrally administered wages (the “iron wage”), and state-controlled appointment, and promotion of managerial staff (the “iron chair”).
- 3.
“sitting the month”, 坐月子 Pinyin: zuoyuezi.
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Liu, X., Burnett, D. (2019). Chun’s Story: First Son, Fourth Child. In: Golden Goose. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-3774-1_6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-3774-1_6
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Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-13-3773-4
Online ISBN: 978-981-13-3774-1
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