“虎妈”一年后的转变

Has Tiger Mom gone soft? One year after the release of her controversial memoir,2 Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, Amy Chua is back in the spotlight, reflecting on how overnight infamy affected her life, her family—and her parenting.3

“Ive changed a lot,” she said. “In October, we had 30 kids at our house! [Weve hosted] co-ed4 parties with lots of food and music.”

Lest5 anyone forget, heres how it all started. Last January, the Wall Street Journal published an excerpt from Chuas book with the headline Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior. In the excerpt, Chua described how her daughters were never allowed to have sleepovers6, appear in school plays, earn any grade lower than an A or have play dates with friends. A firestorm of criticism—and more than a few jokes—ensued.7 Chua, an author and professor at Yale Law School, spent much of 2011 on the defensive8. In fact, many of her interviews seemed to lend fuel to her critics fire.

Now, with the book out in paperback, the note Chua keeps hitting is that Battle Hymn was always meant as a memoir, not a manual.9 She said, “I put passages in the book and used very harsh10 words that I regret. Everybody has those moments you wish you could take back.”

For those who still read Battle Hymn as an advice manual, Chua argues that socalled tiger parenting should be employed predominantly during a childs early years, ideally between the ages of 5 and 12.11 These“super-strict parenting tactics” are not meant for all ages.

Chua predicts shell only get more easygoing12 with age. When asked what type of grandparent shell be, she laughed. “If my parents are any evidence, [Ill] be the softest kitty cat. ... They come to our house and buy my kids presents and stuff them with ice cream and brownies.13 My prediction is that Ill be on the extreme soft end,” she said.

1. 背景：2011年1月8日，《华尔街日报》（Wall Street Journal）刊登了《虎妈战歌》（Battle Hymn Of the Tiger Mother）的内容摘要，介绍了耶鲁大学的法学女教授蔡美儿（Amy Chua）如何以中国式教育方法管教两个女儿。其严苛的教育方法轰动美国教育界，她也因此饱受外界批评。但蔡美儿一再强调，她的书并不是父母教育儿女的指南，而是为人母十余年的回忆录。

2. controversial: 引起争议的；memoir: 回忆录。

3. reflect on: 仔细思考；overnight: 突然的；infamy: 声名狼藉；parent:教养。

4. co-ed: 对男女都开放的。

5. lest: 免得，以免。

6. sleepover: 在外过夜。

7. firestorm: 大爆发；ensue: 因而发生。

8. on the defensive: 处于防守状态。

9. paperback: 平装本；manual: 指南。

10. harsh: 严厉的。

11.employ: 使用，运用；predominantly: 主要地；ideally: 理想地。

12. easygoing: 脾气随和的，温和的。

13. stuff: v. 让……吃饱，吃足；brownie: 巧克力蛋糕。