Respecting the Elderly Is a Traditional Chinese Virtue 尊老是中华民族传统美德

The elderly have accumulated a lifetime’s worth of experience. However, many young people often regard them as irrelevant, embarrassing, and out of touch. As far as I am concerned, the traditional Chinese virtue to respect the old people needs to be emphasized.

老年人积累了一生的宝贵经验。然而，许多年轻人把它漠不关心，感到为难并且与老人失去联系。就我个人而言，尊重老年人是中华民族的传统美德这种观念应该加强。

Firstly, the elderly deserve the respect due to their effort in bringing up their children and their contribution to society. We should always bear in mind that what we have and enjoy now was created by the aged people in the early days, as the old Chinese saying goes,” One generation plants trees under whose shade another generation rests.” Secondly, family is one of the best places for learning values, therefore, to set an example at home by taking good care of the elderly members, so that children learn to adopt this same practice. In this way, families will exemplify the right values, and young members will learn first-hand on how to respect the elderly.

首先，由于老人在抚育他们的孩子和对社会的贡献上来看，他们要受到尊重。我们应该一直记住我们现在拥有和享受到的东西是老一辈在早年时期创造出来的，正如中国的古语所说：“前人栽树后人乘凉”。第二，家是学习价值观最好的地方，因此给家庭成员树立一个照料家人的好榜样，孩子也会这样做。如此，家人就会作为正确价值观的典型榜样，年轻的成员就会直接学习到如何尊重老年人。

Perhaps the most important test of a society is the way individuals behave towards one another. If young people do not respect the elderly; the whole of society will be a mess without respect. Therefore, the elderly should be respected by all of us.

也许社会中最重要的测试就是个人对另一个人的表现，如果年轻人不尊重老年人，整个社会缺乏尊重就会一片混乱。因此，老年人应该受到我们的尊重。