Suing for love
Zhang is among a growing group of elderly Chinese who have resorted to suing their children in a desperate bid for care.
In China, where aid is scarce and family loyalty is a cornerstone of society, more than 1,000 parents have already sued their children for financial support over the last 15 years. But in December, the government went further, and amended its elder care law to require that children also support their parents emotionally. Children who don't visit their parents can be taken to court - by mom and dad.
Zhang's sons argue they are too old and too poor to care for their mother and are struggling to care for themselves.
China is projected to have 636 million people over age 50 - nearly 49 percent of the population - by 2050.
A lack of jobs means rural youth must leave their parents to find work in distant cities. And even children who can afford nursing homes fear sending their parents away will mark them as "unfilial," says sociologist Jenny Zhan, who has studied the impact of China's changing demographics on family relations.
In a rapidly aging country where social and economic changes have chipped away at traditional family values, elderly Chinese are increasingly finding themselves without a safety net - and wondering who will care for them in their final years.
Zhang says she never wanted to take her children to court.
"I never thought about whether my kids would take care of me when I was old," she says. "I just focused on taking care of them."
Zhang is one of about 3,800 people who live in the village of Fusheng, where life seems frozen in a long-ago era. Mothers trudge up steep roads with babies in bamboo baskets strapped to their backs. Farmers balance poles across their shoulders to lug crops over hills and past orange groves. The pace is slow and the atmosphere placid.
Facing a rapidly aging population and persistent stories of elder abuse, China mandated what was once a cultural given by amending its elder care law to require that children support their parents emotionally and visit them often.
It used to be in China that growing old meant earning the respect of the young, and the idea of filial piety, or honoring your parents, was instilled from birth. Parents cared for their children, and their children later cared for them. Neither side had a choice.
Zhou Yinxi's daughter has schizophrenia, and his wife committed suicide. His current girlfriend once promised the family they would care for Zhang, but it never happened. At 68, he is broke and won't receive his pension for two years. "I'm also pretty helpless," he says.
Zhang has accused Kuang of abusing her and locking her in a lightless room for hours on end - accusations Kuang denies.
Zhang wants to go to a nursing home, she says. But the few nursing homes in China supply only 22 beds for every 1,000 seniors, and most are too expensive for the average family.
Zhou lives about a mile away from his mother. His pension is $13 a month, so he depends on the $30 each of his three daughters gives him on his birthday and during Chinese New Year. He sells one pig a year to buy medicine for his paraplegic wife. He is still farming corn and millet because he cannot afford to stop.
"I have to take care of my old mother. My wife. Myself," he says. "I am 71 years old already."
In December, after persistent reports of abuse, China amended its elder care law to require that adult children regularly visit and emotionally support their parents. The amendment, which took effect in July, also requires employers to give workers time off to visit their parents, though even proponents say that may be hard to enforce.