Chinese Only-Child: From "Little Emperor" to "New Citizen"

Author: Feng Xiaotian
Publisher:
Publishing Time:
Features: In the late 1970s, in China, one of the world's great nations, two major historical events occurred: one was the reform and opening-up, and the other was population control. Over more than two decades, the reform and opening-up has transformed the entire face of China, and population control has effectively reduced China's population growth rate. The new generation that emerged and grew up in the shared backdrop of these two events, especially the only children among them, have increasingly become one of the focal points of the entire society. People have noticed, "This generation is very different from when we were young," and people worry, "Can this generation take on the responsibilities of the nation?" How should we view this new generation? The correct approach is to analyze them within their specific social and historical context. In fact, the new generation that grew up in Chinese society in the two decades after the 20th century has had a growth experience unlike any previous generation of Chinese people. The two decades during which they emerged and grew up were precisely the years of rapid and profound transformation in Chinese society, the years of the fastest economic development and greatest achievements in China's economic construction, the years of the most intense transformation and diversification of China's social structure. The lack of objective conditions has, conversely, allowed only children to learn more and receive more practice in social interaction, making them more capable. The professional teaching methods of various "extra-curricular classes" have greatly occupied the time and opportunities for socialization that children would otherwise have had through other forms of social education, leaving certain shortcomings in their development.