Harvard Girl
Encyclopedia
Harvard Girl is a book written by Liu Weihua and Zhang Xinwu , which describes how they raised their daughter, Liu Yiting , to be accepted to Harvard University
. Published in 2000 in Chinese
by the Writers Publishing House
, the book details the rigorous lifestyle that Liu led and includes advice from Liu's parents on how to raise children to gain acceptance to top-tier universities; it has been described as a "manual" for child-rearing and early education.
The book was a bestseller in mainland China
and made both Harvard and Liu Yiting household names among Chinese parents and students. It has since had numerous imitators, spawning an entire genre of how-to books on child-rearing for Chinese parents.
, the capital of Sichuan
province. Liu's parents, believers in the value of early childhood education
, subjected her to a rigorous education beginning when she was only 15 days old. For example, to ensure that someone was always talking to Liu, they invited relatives over to the house. They also had her participate in "character-building" physical exercises such as swimming, jumping rope, and holding ice in her hands for extended periods of time. In addition to these activities, Liu acted in a soap opera
when she was five years old.
While in high school, Liu participated in a student exchange program
and visited America in 1998. This experience changed her views about life in America—like many Chinese citizens, most of her impressions about America came from Hollywood
, and when she came to the country she was "surprised that [she] didn't see any street fights or police-car chases". The program also piqued her interest in American universities, where she realized she would be able to study a variety of subjects.
Although they had been training her to attend a preeminent university, Liu's parents had not expected that she would attend an American one; her mother has said that she had not been aware (until Liu came back from America) that Chinese students could apply to American universities. At the time, it was unusual for Chinese students to attend American schools as undergraduates—most only applied to schools abroad for postgraduate education
.
But rather than taking the gaokao (China's national college entrance examination) and attending one of the National Key Universities, Liu applied and was accepted to several schools (including Harvard
, Columbia
, Wellesley, and Mount Holyoke
), from which she ultimately chose to attend Harvard. Not long afterwards, a local newspaper announced her acceptance and the family was "besieged with thousands of phone calls".
At Harvard, Liu majored in applied mathematics
and economics
and earned high grades; she also chaired the Harvard Project for Asian and International Relations
, a student organization. She was described as "unassuming" and a "typical student", to the point that it took her roommate four years to realize Liu was a celebrity in China. In 2003, Liu graduated and took a job at the Boston Consulting Group
in New York City
.
One major element of the child-rearing strategy described in the book was treating Liu as an adult and "encourag[ing] her to develop a mature style of thinking". Liu's parents never used baby talk
when Liu was a child, and they allowed her to argue with them but required her to present reasoned arguments like an adult. According to education scholar Ben Mardell, the book's focus on independent thinking and intellectual development was a "break with the past" in China, where both early and higher education often emphasize rote learning
.
In addition, the book details the rigorous "character-building exercises" Liu's parents had her perform. In addition to having her do physical exercises, Liu's parents controlled her diet. They also frequently took her traveling, both on short trips to nearby rural areas and on longer trips to historical sites such as Xi'an
. Throughout the book, high value is placed on "full development", and the writers encourage parents to cultivate more than just academic ability in their children.
The book also includes supplementary chapters on topics such as how to select which schools to apply to, and advice for students on filling out applications and taking TOEFL
and SAT
exams.
list for 16 months, during which time it sold at least 1.5 million copies The exact number of sales is unclear; while it had sold about 1.5 million copies through the publisher by early 2003, it was estimated that 2 million more pirated
copies were sold in the same time period (Lin-Liu 2003). and the writers were estimated to have earned at least the equivalent of $
100,000 in royalties
. It became a must-have book for middle-class parents in China. The popularity of Harvard Girl made Liu a "national superstar" and an "idol" for Chinese parents,劉亦婷，已成為許多中國家長心目中的偶像，教育的偶像。 (English: "Liu Yiting has become an idol in the eyes of many Chinese parents, an education idol."). and she frequently received fan mail and drew large crowds at book signings in mainland China. The success of this and similar books (another bestseller in 2001 and 2002 was Robert Kiyosaki
's Rich Dad Poor Dad) in mainland China has been said to reflect a "national obsession" among Chinese parents to get their children into top-ranking American schools.
Harvard Girl was followed by numerous imitations by parents of other successful students, and is said to have spawned an entire genre of education "manuals" for Chinese parents, including similar books on how to get one's children into schools such as Oxford University, Cambridge University, or Columbia University
. This genre includes titles such as Ivy League is Not a Dream, From Andover to Harvard, How We Got Our Child Into Yale, Harvard Family Instruction, The Door of the Elite, Harvard Boy Zhang Zhaomu, Harvard Talents: Children Cultivated by the Karl Weter Educational Law, Tokyo University Boy, Cornell Girl, and Our Dumb Little Boy Goes to Cambridge.
Comparable books have also been published in South Korea
, although American undergraduate universities are not "revered" in the same way there as they are in mainland China. In addition to imitators, Liu's parents have written their own follow-up: Harvard Girl 2: Liu Yiting's Studying Methods and Upbringing Details (＜哈佛女孩刘亦婷＞之二： 刘亦婷的学习方法和培养细节), which describes Liu's four years in college, was published in 2004 by Writers Publishing House.
The book also had an impact on applications to Harvard. It made Harvard a household name in China, and books of this genre caused a significant increase in the number of Chinese applicants to top-tier American universities. In 1999, when Liu applied to Harvard, a total of 44 Chinese students applied there—in 2008, 484 did.
A 2004 book by Xiao Hui (萧愚), entitled Raising Children Requires Great Wisdom: The Truth About "Harvard Girl Liu Yiting" (教育孩子需要大智慧：“哈佛女孩刘亦婷”真相), harshly criticizes Harvard Girl, calling the methods described in the book "false character building" ("伪素质教育") and claiming that Liu gained entrance into Harvard not because of her comprehensive or well-rounded education, but by exploiting loopholes and defects in Harvard's admissions policy for Chinese students or by taking advantage of guanxi
, personal relationships and networks.
Many successful Chinese students after Liu have tried to distance themselves from the so-called "Harvard Girl Phenomenon"; Harvard students Yin Zhongrui and Tang Meijie have both stated they do not want to be compared to "Harvard Girl". Yin's mother published a book, From Andover to Harvard, about how her son was accepted by Harvard, but Yin only allowed his full name to appear in the book's preface. Tang received at least six offers from publishers to have a book written about her, but declined them all. Nevertheless, many of China's top students are still compared to "Harvard Girl", and admissions to top overseas universities often make big news in mainland China; for example, Cheng Wanxin (程琬芯) attracted media attention in Sichuan province when she was accepted to Harvard in April 2009.
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
. Published in 2000 in Chinese
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
by the Writers Publishing House
Writers Publishing House
The Writers Publishing House is a large-scale publishing house in mainland China. It was established in 1953, and was attached to the Chinese Publishing Association . It publishes mostly contemporary literature, and has published several bestselling novels...
, the book details the rigorous lifestyle that Liu led and includes advice from Liu's parents on how to raise children to gain acceptance to top-tier universities; it has been described as a "manual" for child-rearing and early education.
The book was a bestseller in mainland China
Mainland China
Mainland China, the Chinese mainland or simply the mainland, is a geopolitical term that refers to the area under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China . According to the Taipei-based Mainland Affairs Council, the term excludes the PRC Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and...
and made both Harvard and Liu Yiting household names among Chinese parents and students. It has since had numerous imitators, spawning an entire genre of how-to books on child-rearing for Chinese parents.
Liu Yiting
Liu was raised in ChengduChengdu
Chengdu , formerly transliterated Chengtu, is the capital of Sichuan province in Southwest China. It holds sub-provincial administrative status...
, the capital of Sichuan
Sichuan
' , known formerly in the West by its postal map spellings of Szechwan or Szechuan is a province in Southwest China with its capital in Chengdu...
province. Liu's parents, believers in the value of early childhood education
Early childhood education
Early childhood education is the formal teaching and care of young children by people other than their family or in settings outside of the home. 'Early childhood' is usually defined as before the age of normal schooling - five years in most nations, though the U.S...
, subjected her to a rigorous education beginning when she was only 15 days old. For example, to ensure that someone was always talking to Liu, they invited relatives over to the house. They also had her participate in "character-building" physical exercises such as swimming, jumping rope, and holding ice in her hands for extended periods of time. In addition to these activities, Liu acted in a soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
when she was five years old.
While in high school, Liu participated in a student exchange program
Student exchange program
A student exchange program generally could be defined as a program where students from secondary school or university choose to study abroad in partner institutions...
and visited America in 1998. This experience changed her views about life in America—like many Chinese citizens, most of her impressions about America came from Hollywood
Cinema of the United States
The cinema of the United States, also known as Hollywood, has had a profound effect on cinema across the world since the early 20th century. Its history is sometimes separated into four main periods: the silent film era, classical Hollywood cinema, New Hollywood, and the contemporary period...
, and when she came to the country she was "surprised that [she] didn't see any street fights or police-car chases". The program also piqued her interest in American universities, where she realized she would be able to study a variety of subjects.
Although they had been training her to attend a preeminent university, Liu's parents had not expected that she would attend an American one; her mother has said that she had not been aware (until Liu came back from America) that Chinese students could apply to American universities. At the time, it was unusual for Chinese students to attend American schools as undergraduates—most only applied to schools abroad for postgraduate education
Postgraduate education
Postgraduate education involves learning and studying for degrees or other qualifications for which a first or Bachelor's degree generally is required, and is normally considered to be part of higher education...
.
But rather than taking the gaokao (China's national college entrance examination) and attending one of the National Key Universities, Liu applied and was accepted to several schools (including Harvard
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, Columbia
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, Wellesley, and Mount Holyoke
Mount Holyoke College
Mount Holyoke College is a liberal arts college for women in South Hadley, Massachusetts. It was the first member of the Seven Sisters colleges, and served as a model for some of the others...
), from which she ultimately chose to attend Harvard. Not long afterwards, a local newspaper announced her acceptance and the family was "besieged with thousands of phone calls".
At Harvard, Liu majored in applied mathematics
Applied mathematics
Applied mathematics is a branch of mathematics that concerns itself with mathematical methods that are typically used in science, engineering, business, and industry. Thus, "applied mathematics" is a mathematical science with specialized knowledge...
and economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
and earned high grades; she also chaired the Harvard Project for Asian and International Relations
The Harvard Project for Asian and International Relations
The Harvard Project for Asian and International Relations is a non-profit organization under the Harvard University Faculty of Arts and Sciences. HPAIR currently holds two annual conferences that bring together international students and eminent individuals in the fields of academia, politics and...
, a student organization. She was described as "unassuming" and a "typical student", to the point that it took her roommate four years to realize Liu was a celebrity in China. In 2003, Liu graduated and took a job at the Boston Consulting Group
Boston Consulting Group
The Boston Consulting Group is a global management consulting firm with offices in 42 countries. It is recognized as one of the most prestigious management consulting firms in the world. It is one of only three companies to appear in the top 15 of Fortunes "Best Companies to Work For" report for...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
Description
Liu Weihua (Liu's mother) and Zhang Xinwu (Liu's stepfather) published Harvard Girl in 2000, after Liu had matriculated at Harvard. According to Liu, her parents had plans early on to write about their parenting methods, but they waited until 2000 to publish the book, relying on Liu's perceived success to establish themselves as "experts". The book primarily consists of research-like notes and diary entries, which Liu and her parents began recording and saving before Liu was in first grade. Liu herself helped edit the book, and wrote several of the later chapters.One major element of the child-rearing strategy described in the book was treating Liu as an adult and "encourag[ing] her to develop a mature style of thinking". Liu's parents never used baby talk
Baby talk
Baby talk, also referred to as caretaker speech, infant-directed speech or child-directed speech and informally as "motherese", "parentese", "mommy talk", or "daddy talk" is a nonstandard form of speech used by adults in talking to toddlers and infants.It is usually delivered with a "cooing"...
when Liu was a child, and they allowed her to argue with them but required her to present reasoned arguments like an adult. According to education scholar Ben Mardell, the book's focus on independent thinking and intellectual development was a "break with the past" in China, where both early and higher education often emphasize rote learning
Rote learning
Rote learning is a learning technique which focuses on memorization. The major practice involved in rote learning is learning by repetition by which students commit information to memory in a highly structured way. The idea is that one will be able to quickly recall the meaning of the material the...
.
In addition, the book details the rigorous "character-building exercises" Liu's parents had her perform. In addition to having her do physical exercises, Liu's parents controlled her diet. They also frequently took her traveling, both on short trips to nearby rural areas and on longer trips to historical sites such as Xi'an
Xi'an
Xi'an is the capital of the Shaanxi province, and a sub-provincial city in the People's Republic of China. One of the oldest cities in China, with more than 3,100 years of history, the city was known as Chang'an before the Ming Dynasty...
. Throughout the book, high value is placed on "full development", and the writers encourage parents to cultivate more than just academic ability in their children.
The book also includes supplementary chapters on topics such as how to select which schools to apply to, and advice for students on filling out applications and taking TOEFL
TOEFL
The Test of English as a Foreign Language, or TOEFL , evaluates the ability of an individual to use and understand English in an academic setting....
and SAT
SAT
The SAT Reasoning Test is a standardized test for college admissions in the United States. The SAT is owned, published, and developed by the College Board, a nonprofit organization in the United States. It was formerly developed, published, and scored by the Educational Testing Service which still...
exams.
Impact
The book was at the top of China's bestsellerBestseller
A bestseller is a book that is identified as extremely popular by its inclusion on lists of currently top selling titles that are based on publishing industry and book trade figures and published by newspapers, magazines, or bookstore chains. Some lists are broken down into classifications and...
list for 16 months, during which time it sold at least 1.5 million copies The exact number of sales is unclear; while it had sold about 1.5 million copies through the publisher by early 2003, it was estimated that 2 million more pirated
Copyright infringement
Copyright infringement is the unauthorized or prohibited use of works under copyright, infringing the copyright holder's exclusive rights, such as the right to reproduce or perform the copyrighted work, or to make derivative works.- "Piracy" :...
copies were sold in the same time period (Lin-Liu 2003). and the writers were estimated to have earned at least the equivalent of $
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
100,000 in royalties
Royalties
Royalties are usage-based payments made by one party to another for the right to ongoing use of an asset, sometimes an intellectual property...
. It became a must-have book for middle-class parents in China. The popularity of Harvard Girl made Liu a "national superstar" and an "idol" for Chinese parents,劉亦婷，已成為許多中國家長心目中的偶像，教育的偶像。 (English: "Liu Yiting has become an idol in the eyes of many Chinese parents, an education idol."). and she frequently received fan mail and drew large crowds at book signings in mainland China. The success of this and similar books (another bestseller in 2001 and 2002 was Robert Kiyosaki
Robert Kiyosaki
Robert Toru Kiyosaki, born April 8, 1947) is an American investor, businessman, self-help author and motivational speaker. Kiyosaki is best known for his Rich Dad Poor Dad series of motivational books and other material published under the Rich Dad brand. He has written 15 books which have combined...
's Rich Dad Poor Dad) in mainland China has been said to reflect a "national obsession" among Chinese parents to get their children into top-ranking American schools.
Harvard Girl was followed by numerous imitations by parents of other successful students, and is said to have spawned an entire genre of education "manuals" for Chinese parents, including similar books on how to get one's children into schools such as Oxford University, Cambridge University, or Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
. This genre includes titles such as Ivy League is Not a Dream, From Andover to Harvard, How We Got Our Child Into Yale, Harvard Family Instruction, The Door of the Elite, Harvard Boy Zhang Zhaomu, Harvard Talents: Children Cultivated by the Karl Weter Educational Law, Tokyo University Boy, Cornell Girl, and Our Dumb Little Boy Goes to Cambridge.
Comparable books have also been published in South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
, although American undergraduate universities are not "revered" in the same way there as they are in mainland China. In addition to imitators, Liu's parents have written their own follow-up: Harvard Girl 2: Liu Yiting's Studying Methods and Upbringing Details (＜哈佛女孩刘亦婷＞之二： 刘亦婷的学习方法和培养细节), which describes Liu's four years in college, was published in 2004 by Writers Publishing House.
The book also had an impact on applications to Harvard. It made Harvard a household name in China, and books of this genre caused a significant increase in the number of Chinese applicants to top-tier American universities. In 1999, when Liu applied to Harvard, a total of 44 Chinese students applied there—in 2008, 484 did.
Criticisms
On the other hand, the book has been criticized for increasing the pressure many Chinese students already had to succeed in school, and for taking advantage of the widespread belief that admission into leading universities is necessary for success in life. Some critics have called the book "boastful". A 2001 study by a group of educators claimed that the strategies described in the book would not work for everyone even though they had worked for Liu, and that many families following the book's advice would be disappointed.A 2004 book by Xiao Hui (萧愚), entitled Raising Children Requires Great Wisdom: The Truth About "Harvard Girl Liu Yiting" (教育孩子需要大智慧：“哈佛女孩刘亦婷”真相), harshly criticizes Harvard Girl, calling the methods described in the book "false character building" ("伪素质教育") and claiming that Liu gained entrance into Harvard not because of her comprehensive or well-rounded education, but by exploiting loopholes and defects in Harvard's admissions policy for Chinese students or by taking advantage of guanxi
Guanxi
Guanxi describes the basic dynamic in personalized networks of influence, and is a central idea in Chinese society. In Western media, the pinyin romanization of this Chinese word is becoming more widely used instead of the two common translations—"connections" and "relationships"—as neither of...
, personal relationships and networks.
Many successful Chinese students after Liu have tried to distance themselves from the so-called "Harvard Girl Phenomenon"; Harvard students Yin Zhongrui and Tang Meijie have both stated they do not want to be compared to "Harvard Girl". Yin's mother published a book, From Andover to Harvard, about how her son was accepted by Harvard, but Yin only allowed his full name to appear in the book's preface. Tang received at least six offers from publishers to have a book written about her, but declined them all. Nevertheless, many of China's top students are still compared to "Harvard Girl", and admissions to top overseas universities often make big news in mainland China; for example, Cheng Wanxin (程琬芯) attracted media attention in Sichuan province when she was accepted to Harvard in April 2009.
External links
- Harvard Girl on Google books