In typical Chinese families, who is the dominant person, the mother or the father?
在一个典型的中国家庭中,谁在家庭中占主导地位,母亲还是父亲?
Well, of course, it depends on the family. In a traditional family, the father is the dominant person because he is usually the breadwinner. However, even if the husband is the person earning most of the money in the family, the wife can often be the "power behind the throne," and exercise a lot of influence over the husband and the whole family. In a traditional family, the wife often takes a back seat to the husband, but these days this is changing and husbands and wives often share responsibilities and influence in a family.
当然,这取决于单个家庭的状况。在一个传统的家庭之中,父亲处于主导地位,因为他经常是维持生计的人。然而,即使丈夫是为家庭挣钱最多的人,妻子通常是成功男人背后的女人。而且妻子在家中的影响远远超过丈夫对整个家庭的影响。在一个传统的家庭之中,妻子经常给丈夫搬板凳,但是这种情况已经过时了,现在丈夫和妻子通常是共同承担家庭责任,并影响整个家庭。
Do you think this has changed at all in recent years?
你认为这种情况在近些年改变了吗?
Yes, it has changed quite a bit in the past few years, especially in the urban areas, where men and women are more equal. This is also the result of younger generations deciding that they want to be different from the older generations and their parents. For instance, it used to be that women took care of the children in a family, and the men had jobs and earned the money. However, in recent years this has changed. In some families both parents work, so they share responsibilities for taking care of their children.
是的,这种情况已经和过去大不相同了。尤其是在城市地区,在那里的男人和女人更加平等。这也是由新一代创造的结果,年轻的一代人希望能过上与自己父母在过去的时候截然不同的生活。例如,过去妇女经常是在家照看孩子,男人在外面工作养家糊口。然而,近些年这种状况已经改变了。在一些家庭中,父母都工作,所以他们也共同承担照顾孩子的责任。