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China’s Unwritten Rules & The Population Time Bomb
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CHINA’S UNWRITTEN RULES &
By Frank Hossack
News of China’s rapidly-aging population will not have escapes The Nanjinger’s alert readers. That’s right folks, people aren’t making enough babies.
The problem of course, is the herd effect. And given China is an aspirational society driven by the concept of face, from a population standpoint, that’s a recipe for disaster.
For the little ones simply have to be given everything, in order to achieve everything. Then, and only then, can they make it into the one of the world’s top universities, if only to make their parents look good. As the website, chinaeducationaltours.com, points out, “A degree from any of these types of universities not only practically guarantees success in life, but also stands as a shiny, golden reflection upon the parents themselves”.
Whether knowingly or unknowingly, the parents have been snared by the trap known as “Keeping up with the Jones’”. And it’s a deep trap from which in China there is no way out.
The Chinese phrase “不行” means “not allowed”, “won't do”, “out of the question”. It’s common everyday parlance, but especially among parents and grandparents when discussing a child’s behaviour or education and particularly the after-school activities/ classes in which they participate.
The commonly-accepted standard is the child must excel, no matter the cost. And yes, it is all about nothing but money.
Therefore, a child need walk a well-trodden road, one overshadowed by the unwritten rules of parenting. And it starts from a young age. “回家, 吃饭, 洗澡, 睡觉” (go home, have dinner, have shower, go sleep) is the ritual which starts them out on this highway of hope. China Daily puts some numbers on this phenomenon. “More than 60 percent of Chinese children are taking extracurricular classes and 85 percent of parents pay attention to children's after-school activities, according to a recent survey”, that publication reported in 2019. Research institution, the China National Children's Centre, was responsible for said survey, which reportedly involved 14,874 children aged between 3 and 15. Respondents were scattered across urban and rural areas in 10 cities, far and wide across China.
The Chinese are well aware of the shortcomings in their education system, which is why they accept that the only way to give their child a leg up is by forking out.
But the cash is running out, fast. And in many cases it already has. If a child cannot be given that which society has decreed to be the only option, is it any wonder so few want to have any more children, especially given what else is happening in our world?
A greater change of view is going to be essential. Without it, we’re going to start running out of Chinese people.
Many would do well to consider that while their child is going to her piano lessons, there are girls in China’s remote rural areas who walk miles to school every day, up a mountain. The windows on that school are possibly sheet plastic, the girl’s parents barely able to afford the tuition.
But they do grow up, and many of them go on to excel at what they choose to do. It’s just not (usually) playing piano.
Mindful of this, perhaps some Chinese parents may just feel motivated enough to bring another baby or two into the world. Before it’s too late.
