當國家救助體系不足，社會安養措施欠缺時，親人間的救恤便凸顯其重要性。該種憑藉親情的自發力量，所幫助的範圍或許不是很大，但是當恤親思想成為人們的共識時，它產生的作用便不能等閒視之。親人的依附投靠，會增加家庭的負擔，但恤養者願意伸出援手，有需要的弱勢者預期親人會接納，所以才來投歸，雙方就在儒家倫理的影響，以及濃厚的家族意識下，不自覺的內化了恤親思想。唐代南北風尚不同，南人感受儒家的教化力道不如北人，故南人的恤親行為可能不似北人的熱切。唐人的恤親對象最主要是孤兒寡婦，但也有時運不濟者。恤親不只是利他主義，也是交互報償的互惠主義。施者與受者間是一種互動歷程，但受者回饋的對象可能在代際間流轉，未必是原來的施者，而這也正是恤親思想得以廣為流傳的原因。唐人恤親的組織化色彩淡薄，沒有族中共有的經濟支持，也不以本宗成員為限，再加上儒家倫理意識下及庶民階層，故恤親思想成為唐人的社會價值觀，普遍存於各階層。

When the state has an inadequate system of aid for its citizens and there lacks measures to care for the needy in society, this high lights the importance of support from one's family and relatives. Although such a spontaneous familial support system is perhaps limited in scope, when the idea of such a system becomes the common consensus, one cannot ignore the powerful impact this has on society. Providing help for relatives in need can increase the family burden, but those who are disadvantaged usually only seek help from family when they anticipate that their family will be willing to lend a helping hand. Influenced by Confucian ethics and a strong family awareness, both provider and recipient of help unconsciously internalize the notion of family support. During the Tang dynasty, family support customs differed between north and south. The relatively weaker influence of Confucian education in the south seemingly shows that southerners were less fervent in helping family members compared with northerners. At that time it was mainly orphans and widows who sought help from their families, though occasionally so did people down on their luck. Supporting family members in need is not just an altruistic act, but is also seen as a reciprocal arrangement mutually beneficial to both provider and recipient. This interactive process may span different generations, as those who provided the original help do not necessarily have to be the ones who benefit from any reciprocal support, which is precisely the reason why the idea of family support systems has spread so widely. During the Tang, the family support system was weakly organized. There was a lack of financial support from the clan, and the system was also not limited to members of the paternal family. Moreover, as commoners were also influenced by Confucian ethics, the idea of the familial support system became the norm across all socio-economic levels in Tang society.