RAB Source Entry 1 – Lisa Liu

My research question is: “Does Chinese parenting work?  Are the kids happy and are they successful? Is there a difference in Chinese parents’ eyes?”

This topic interests me because I have a pair of typical Chinese parents whereas the tiger mom is always strict and the cat dad is always timid. When I was a child, my mom liked to encourage me to learn and study hard because that could give me a nice future. At the same time, my dad agreed and also convinced me more tenderly. Even though I perceived that they were doing it for my best, this morality abducted my freedom in some way. Chinese parenting has very much influenced my personality and my life decisions. This typical Chinese parenting caused me to have very rebellious reactions such as not listening and not wanting to do things in my mother’s controlling way. I already know that many children are affected by their Chinese parents in the way of comprehension and personality. This is because Chinese parents always have high standards and want their children to have the best results and sources. Also, I already know that children often are being pushed forcefully to achieve their academic goals. However, these approaches can lead kids to feel overwhelmed and rebellious while kids are in their adolescence and development period. Some points that I plan to explore and find out more about are the outcomes of Chinese parenting and the difference between being successful and happy in Chinese parenting.

Source Entry #1

Part 1: MLA Citation

Chua, Amy. “Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior.” WSJ, Wall Street Journal, 8 Jan. 2011, www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704111504576059713528698754.‌

Part 2: Summary

In the article, “Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior”, the author, Amy Chua, evokes her perception of the Chinese parenting style, whereby parents who are tigress mothers educate their children to be more successful than Western parenting style. She begins with a list of taboos that she, as a Chinese mother, requires of her daughters. These taboos include not attending a sleepover, having a play date, and being in a school play, etc. All of these things will affect the way a child grows up and succeeds. Amy Chua also links to research she has found that proves that the majority of Chinese mothers feel that their children can be called “The best” and “academic achievement reflects successful parenting” (Chua). On the other hand, if the child’s grades are not good, it is the school’s fault, the student’s lack of effort, and the parents’ responsibility for not doing a good job. Amy Chua also says “What Chinese parents understand is that nothing is fun until you’re good at it” (Chua). This shows that Chinese parents believe that success and satisfaction require hard work and good grades, so they force their children to excel in academics and extracurricular activities. Amy Chua also demonstrates her power over her daughters by forcing her youngest daughter, Sophia, to play an extremely difficult piano piece. Her daughter was very defiant. However, after Chua’s strict demands, such as not letting her do anything but play the piano, Sophia eventually mastered it. She also says that this achievement made her and the audience around her very happy. That’s why Chua says Chinese parents are so strict, because the result of hard work is something that brings appreciation to the parents and the child enjoys the taste of success. By contrast, Amy Chua reflects that the difference between Western Parenting and Chinese parenting is that Western Parenting is too soft and generous. She points out that Western parents mainly focus on their children’s psyches, but Chinese parents believe their children must repay their parents by obeying them and making them proud. By contrast, Amy Chua gives an example from her husband that Western parents do not have the same point of view. Chua’s husband says “Children don’t choose their parents…Kids don’t owe their parents anything” (Chua). Western parents believe children are not born to pay off anything but just being the parents’ kids. Finally, Amy Chua concludes her discussion by indicating that Chinese parents believe that preparing their children for the future, strengthening them academically, and boosting their inner confidence and skills are essential.

Part 3: Reflection

From this article, I can perceive that this source is responding to my research question that Chinese parenting does work, and their kids are successful and happy to a certain extent. Moreover, in Chinese parenting, there is not a big difference between success and happiness. The reason is because by Amy Chua’s assertion, she indicates that even though children may act resistantly in Chinese parenting, parents know that hard work can give good results to kids. During this process, it can be very harsh to both parents and children while pushing them so hard to learn and keeping them under control. Amy Chua demonstrates this difficulty by showing her example about her daughter learning a challenging piano piece and she was “motivating” her daughter by restricting her activities. I can relate to this example because my Chinese mother sometimes also restricts me from doing things I want when she wants me to study. When I was little, she took away my cell phone and grabbed my little body in the study room. My mother said she does everything for her kids because she knows the best for them. In spite of that motivation, many children under this kind of parenting lead to rebellion and depression as they grow up because restrictions can rebound to contradictions. Nevertheless, in the end of Amy Chua’s story, she shows that success can make her kid and the parents happy and being admired so there is no big difference between success and happiness.

Part 4: Rhetorical Analysis

This article falls in the opinion editorial genre. The author’s tone in this article is subjective and persuasive by constantly repeating her points such as using the two words, “By contrast…” to compare the differences between Western parents and Chinese parents. The purpose of this article is to prove that Chinese parenting can help children succeed more effectively compared to Western parenting. The author, Amy Chua shows a rhetorical appeal of ethos, given that she is a professor at Yale Law School. She is also an American corporate lawyer and a writer. She is known for her marketable book, “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mom”. She was also named as one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people. In addition, this article is published in The Wall Street Journal, an American business and economic-focused international daily newspaper based in New York City that was founded in 1889. Amy Chua uses rhetorical appeals of pathos by connecting to her example about her daughter learning a hard piano piece and illustrates images in the article. Her appeal to logos is that she utilizes statistics and facts at the beginning of the article. The statistics describe percentages of Western and Chinese mothers who agreed that “‘stressing academic success is not good for children or that ‘parents need to foster the idea that learning is fun.’” The result shows that 0% of Chinese mothers agree with these statements, instead, believe that successful children outcoming from successful parenting. The primary audience is the Western parents that Amy Chua exemplifies in her article that they might need to reevaluate their methods of parenting since their style of parenting is less likely to provide their kids with effective achievements. The general audience might be any parent who is attracted by the controversy about parenting. This article was published on January 8, 2011, which is still debatable to this day.

Part 5: Notable Quotables

“In one study of 50 Western American mothers and 48 Chinese immigrant mothers, almost 70% of the Western mothers said either that ‘stressing academic success is not good for children’ or that ‘parents need to foster the idea that learning is fun.’ By contrast, roughly 0% of the Chinese mothers felt the same way” (Amy Chua).

“Third, Chinese parents believe that they know what is best for their children and therefore override all of their children’s own desires and preferences” (Amy Chua).

“By contrast, the Chinese believe that the best way to protect their children is by preparing them for the future, letting them see what they’re capable of, and arming them with skills, work habits and inner confidence that no one can ever take away” (Amy Chua).