The Irrational Awe of China

By DAVID LEONHARDT

With China’s President, Hu Jintao, coming to the United States next week, Andrew Kohut of the Pew Research Center reports:
Almost half (47%) of Americans say China is the world’s leading economic power, while just 31% name the U.S.

http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/01/14/the-irrational-awe-of-china/?src=busln

Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior

By AMY CHUA

A lot of people wonder how Chinese parents raise such stereotypically successful kids. They wonder what these parents do to produce so many math whizzes and music prodigies, what it's like inside the family, and whether they could do it too. Well, I can tell them, because I've done it. Here are some things my daughters, Sophia and Louisa, were never allowed to do:


• attend a sleepover
• have a playdate
• be in a school play
• complain about not being in a school play
• watch TV or play computer games
• choose their own extracurricular activities
• get any grade less than an A
• not be the No. 1 student in every subject except gym and drama
• play any instrument other than the piano or violin
• not play the piano or violin.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704111504576059713528698754.html?KEYWORDS=AMY+CHUA