Raising children in today’s China is not for the faint of heart, and a recent popular joke about parenting in Beijing captured the anxiety perfectly:
A Beijing parent asks: “My son is 4 years old, but only knows 1,500 words in English. Is that enough?”
Wǒ de érzi jīnnián sì suì le, dànshì Yīngyǔ cíhuìliàng zhīyǒu yìqiān wǔbǎi, gòu yòng ma？
我的儿子今年四岁了，但是英语词汇量只有1500，够用吗？
Reply: “It’s good enough in America, but doubtful in Haidian.”
Zài Měiguó kěndìng gòu le, zài Hǎidiàn xuán.
在美国肯定够了，在海淀悬。
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Playing Chicken With China's New Superkids is a story from our issue, “Call of the Wild.” To read the entire issue, become a subscriber and receive the full magazine.
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