ABSTRACT
The Chinese believe that their lives are continued in the lives of their children and that, so long as generation succeeds generation, the predecessors are perpetuated. The maintenance of family continuity is one’s greatest responsibility to one’s ancestors, for failure to produce offspring means not only the end of the family line but the death of all the ancestors as well. Mencius has said: “There are three things that are un-filial, and to have no children is the greatest of these.” The illiterate farmers may not be familiar with the literature, but they are fully aware of their duty in keeping the family tree alive.
