Interpersonal relationship is more intimate in the rural area. Nowadays, although the aged people and their children no longer live under the same roof as it once did, they actually form a big family not only in name but also in fact as a result of the small space area of the village. The authority of the elderly has declined due to the social reforms and transformation in occupying the core position of cohesion. However, some characteristics of extended family are inherited. The olds remain their special status. They possess arbitration and discourse power in morality manner and economy. At the same time, they get the support of public opinions and are in the position of core cohesion in rural areas. Therefore, how the elderly employ their right of arbitration and discourse power is of vital importance to the unity and harmony of the big family.%农村是一个人际关系比较亲密的社会，老人和子女虽不再像以前那样共同生活在一起，但是在村庄这个比较狭小的地域，不但在名义上而且在事实上组成了一个大家庭。在这个大家庭里，虽然由于当代农村社会的变革和社会转型，老人的权威地位有所下降，但是它继承了传统大家庭的某些特征，老人仍然保持着特殊的地位，他们拥有道德、礼仪、经济等方面的仲裁权和话语权，同时拥有农村社会舆论的支持，处于家庭凝聚的核心地位。因此，老人如何运用自己的仲裁权和话语权，是其能否将整个大家庭凝聚在一起的重大因素，对于大家庭的团结与和睦非常重要。
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