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? Read more…

Scott Simon writes openly and lovingly about the adoption process that he and his wife went through in order to bring their two daughters home from China in Baby, We Were Meant For Each Other: In Praise of Adoption (Random House, 180pgs). The author, known on the airwaves as the host of NPR‘s Weekend Edition, and his wife Caroline, had tried for years to conceive before deciding to adopt a child from overseas. Simon tells of their first “adopto-tourism” trip to China, anxiously seeing the sights with a group of adoptive parents, nervously waiting for the big moment when they’ll finally meet their child. The fulfillment of a dream, becoming parents, is both joyful and terrifying. At first sight, they immediately fall in love with the little girl they name Elise, though the euphoria is tempered with moments of panic and fear. “What have we done? What were we thinking? We’ve ripped a baby away from the only place she’s ever known, to bring her some place on the other side of the world that might as well be the moon. What kind of people are we?”
Read more…

Camellia sinensis

The British Empire enjoyed incredible power and influence during the 19th century, and though its control extended around the globe, it was the lack of control of a small plant that caused a serious issue. The plant in question, Camellia sinensis, used to make tea, was in serious demand by 1800 as the “cuppa” became a British institution. The problem was that China controlled the world’s tea production, and was no longer interested in trading opium for tea as they had in the past. Beginning in 1850, British entrepreneurs sought to develop tea growing in India, the Asian country under the empire’s control, and employed Scotsman Robert Fortune to steal China’s tea making secrets. Sarah Rose writes about this industrial intrigue in the new book For All the Tea In China: How England Stole the World’s Favorite Drink and Changed History (Viking Adult, 272pgs). The author calls this endeavor to wrest control of the tea trade the “greatest single act of corporate espionage in history.”
Read more…