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Does Tiger Mother Speak for All Chinese Moms?

51lnA9qFp7L._SL160_The recent release of Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, written by Yale law professor Amy Chua, has caused quite a stir with the media and a swath of American parents who have taken issue with her rigid approach to motherhood. Chua, who chose to raise her two daughters the Chinese way, expected nothing less than academic perfection from her children and banned participation in sleep overs, video games and school plays so that the girls could spend arduous hours practicing their musical instruments. There is no arguing this mother got results, her daughters, now 15 and 18, are straight A students and the oldest has performed at Carnegie Hall. Yet, Journalists and parents have criticized Chua for being cruel and unnecessarily strict, amid grumbles about calling social services. In interviews, Chua has explained that the book was supposed to be funny, she intended it to be a sort of satire of her experience with motherhood, and admits that was less of a slave-driver in real life. Somehow, knowing this does not make reading about her screaming rants at her children any less unpleasant for some. But that is here in the U.S., how are her methods viewed in China?

According to an article in the Los Angeles Times the book was released in China in mid-January, and is currently ranked #80 on China’s version of Amazon, Joyo.com. Ironically, the book has been retitled Being a Mom in America for the Chinese release. It is marketed as more of a “cross-cultural conflict” book rather than a parenting how-to, and Chua is presented as “overseas Chinese.” However, even in a land of hundreds of millions of Chinese mothers, the author’s methods are not accepted chapter and verse. It seems millennial China, with its move toward modernization, may have been slightly influenced by Western views on childhood.

“The making of superb test-takers comes at a high cost, often killing much of, if not all, the joy of childhood,” wrote editor Chen Weihua, in an article for the state-run China Daily in response to Chinese children’s stellar standardized test scores.

In a letter to the New Yorker, writer Qi Zhai, who earned her degree from Stanford and now resides in Beijing, reflects on her own childhood experiences. “When I have my own children, I will mimic my parents’ devotion to education. But what I will do differently is allow more room for creativity…I want  to give my children what I’m still working on building for myself as an adult—confidence in knowing that no matter what choices you make, as long as you’re passionate about it, you will be successful.”

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