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Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother An article published under the headline “Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior” in The Wall Street Journal on January 8, 2011, contained excerpts from her book, in which Chua describes her efforts to give her children what she describes as a traditional, strict “Chinese” upbringing. This piece was controversial. Many readers missed the supposed irony and self deprecating (自贬的) humor in the title and the piece itself and instead believed that Chua was advocating the “superiority” of a particular, very strict, ethnically defined approach to parenting. In any case, Chua defines “Chinese mother” loosely to include parents of other ethnicities who practice traditional, strict child rearing, while also acknowledging that “Western parents come in all varieties,” and not all ethnically Chinese parents practice strict child rearing. Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother The Wall Street Journal article generated a huge response, both positive and negative. Chua has openly confronted criticism in print and during her book signings. In a follow up article in the Wall Street Journal, Chua explains that “my actual book is not a how to guide; it’s a memoir, the story of our family’s journey in two cultures, and my own eventual transformation as a mother. Much of the book is about my decision to retreat from the strict ‘Chinese’ approach, after my younger daughter rebelled at thirteen. PART THREE During our first weeks in Beijing, we attended a talent show at our children’s British school and watched Chinese students ascend the stage and play Chopin etudes and Beethoven symphonies, while their Western counterparts ambled up and proudly played the ABCs under their flapping arms. It was enough to make anyone pause and ponder the way we are raising our kids. But time in China also taught me that while some here view a Chinese education as the gold standard, many there are questioning the system, noting that it stifles creativity and innovation, two