ABSTRACT
My task in this paper is threefold: (a) To set forth some of the main assumptions relating to human development that underlay the Confucian tradition and shaped the thinking of both governments and individuals throughout most of China’s history; (b) to discuss the implications of these views for the general evaluation of the elderly population; and (c) to relate these assumptions to the definitions and evaluations held by contemporary populations in the People’s Republic of China and in Hong Kong.
