But rising prosperity has removed the need to treat children in part as economics goods and to consider them as being solely a good in themselves. Though this change of attitude toward children is certainly desirable and one to be encouraged it has had the effect in China of creating what one might call the little-emperor syndrome which is just a term for what Westerners call spoiled brats. About 25 per cent of the population are children with something like 65 per cent living in rural areas. Now this generation has focused on its children, lavishing them with the love and attention that they were denied, sacrificing all to make a good life for them. The main road to the good life is a good education.
Chinese parents go to incredible lengths to provide for their children's education.
The great goal for most of them is to see their child in university. Without a doubt this is a unique phenomenon in Chinese history and, given the rate of change, probably world history. But there is a dark side. The effect of genuine economic growth combined with a falling birth rate is that girls are now, for the first time, being treated equally. This, however does not mean that a female baby is always welcome.