“Two Kinds”: The Role of the Chinese Parent in Todays Society.
Many people wonder how Chinese parents raise such successful kids. Much of these speculations into the mystery of Chinese parenting styles are very recent. Chinese parenting practices focus more on being demanding and strict to guide their children to do well. It is important to examine exactly how the parenting roles of the Chinese differ from those of western cultures. The story of “Two Kinds” by Amy Tan explores what happens when a mother from China brings her family over to America, to give her daughter the opportunity to live the American dream. This story shows a mix of stern Chinese parenting and modern day American culture; Chinese parenting is influenced by history and …show more content…
H.P Wilkinson, author of The Family Life in Classical China, states that most of the Chinese have gained their fundamental social principals through The Rituals of Chow by Chow Kung and The Record of Rites. (Wilkinson 19) These works, along with many other classics, showcase writings from the origins of China about how the first people of china conducted themselves including family life. Another example that the Chinese drew from to structure there own families and ways of parenting were The Odes which are the oldest existing collection of Chinese poetry and songs; they comprised works from 12th to 7th century BCE. It served as a template for many Chinese families in early tradition. The problem with The Book of Odes is that the poems and songs are often interpreted in different ways, but the importance of The Odes and other historical works of China are that they gave developing China a traditional structure of doing …show more content…
In the past according to the book (Wilkinson 21) “Women were the theoretically of little importance. They were necessary for the reproduction of species, in most cases for the labor in the home.” In the past as with most society’s women didn’t have much responsibility outside of the home, this was also true for the Chinese culture, they usually served their husband, and son but over time the roles have changed and a balance between mother and father in Chinese households has been established. The term tiger mother came about after the story Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother was released by Amy Chua, a story that shows a clash of cultures between Chinese parenting methods and western society. Several reasons why this parenting style has become so popular in western societies are because many Chinese children are excelling in school and seem to be very disciplined. According to the American Psychological Association today the Chinese mother not only puts emphasis on academic achievement but they also see it as important to foster other traits they believe their children will need to thrive. (Chamberlin) The goal of the Chinese mother has expanded past beliefs of creating a model citizen they not only want to instill a child with morals, and esteem, but also help them survive in todays economy, by providing the best form of
Many people wonder how Chinese parents raise such successful kids. Much of these speculations into the mystery of Chinese parenting styles are very recent. Chinese parenting practices focus more on being demanding and strict to guide their children to do well. It is important to examine exactly how the parenting roles of the Chinese differ from those of western cultures. The story of “Two Kinds” by Amy Tan explores what happens when a mother from China brings her family over to America, to give her daughter the opportunity to live the American dream. This story shows a mix of stern Chinese parenting and modern day American culture; Chinese parenting is influenced by history and …show more content…
H.P Wilkinson, author of The Family Life in Classical China, states that most of the Chinese have gained their fundamental social principals through The Rituals of Chow by Chow Kung and The Record of Rites. (Wilkinson 19) These works, along with many other classics, showcase writings from the origins of China about how the first people of china conducted themselves including family life. Another example that the Chinese drew from to structure there own families and ways of parenting were The Odes which are the oldest existing collection of Chinese poetry and songs; they comprised works from 12th to 7th century BCE. It served as a template for many Chinese families in early tradition. The problem with The Book of Odes is that the poems and songs are often interpreted in different ways, but the importance of The Odes and other historical works of China are that they gave developing China a traditional structure of doing …show more content…
In the past according to the book (Wilkinson 21) “Women were the theoretically of little importance. They were necessary for the reproduction of species, in most cases for the labor in the home.” In the past as with most society’s women didn’t have much responsibility outside of the home, this was also true for the Chinese culture, they usually served their husband, and son but over time the roles have changed and a balance between mother and father in Chinese households has been established. The term tiger mother came about after the story Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother was released by Amy Chua, a story that shows a clash of cultures between Chinese parenting methods and western society. Several reasons why this parenting style has become so popular in western societies are because many Chinese children are excelling in school and seem to be very disciplined. According to the American Psychological Association today the Chinese mother not only puts emphasis on academic achievement but they also see it as important to foster other traits they believe their children will need to thrive. (Chamberlin) The goal of the Chinese mother has expanded past beliefs of creating a model citizen they not only want to instill a child with morals, and esteem, but also help them survive in todays economy, by providing the best form of