Old age often arrived long after women became grandmothers. In traditional China the elderly were entitled to a golden old age; loving care was repayment for the great efforts they had made in their youth and middle age. Old people should bask in respect and whatever comforts the family could provide. The ideal died in the Mao Era, when the stress was on youth, revolting against the old world and its living representatives, old people.

Respect for age has been revived in the Reform Era. Young people are obliged by customs and by law to support their elders. With limited pensions and health care, plus rising life expectancy, this may be a burden for the young. The number of young people started to shrink with the introduction of the One Child per Family policy in the 1980s. The 4–2–1 syndrome emerged: two parents with one child supporting four grandparents. An extreme form is 8–4–2–1, with the addition of great-grandparents. Recently the Chinese government has recognised the problem and encourages couples to have two or three children.