Uncertain Love
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Summary
Guan Yixin formed long-term friendships with more than ten middle-class families in Kunming that went beyond the relationship between investigator and subject. Through conversations and interactions with these parents, school teachers, and others involved, Guan Yixin, with an anthropologist's sensitivity to narrative and detail, combines fieldwork, ethnographic research, and academic norms to offer a theoretical explanation of the ambitious child-rearing practices of contemporary urban middle-class parents and the hopes and anxieties in which they are immersed. The book reveals the moral dilemmas of urban middle-class parents under the current Chinese education system, as well as the emotional experiences among people within the family—the most basic unit—amid rapid modernization.
Placing these parents' experiences in the historical context of the state's efforts to improve "population quality," Uncertain Love reveals how economic change manifests in the most intimate human experiences. The book offers a reflection on the nature of moral agency, exploring how people, amid life's countless contingencies, discern what is controllable and what is not.
Editor's review
Who it's for
A good fit for
- Urban middle-class parents, especially those anxious about school choice and the cost of child-rearing
- Students and researchers in education, anthropology, and sociology
- Readers concerned with family change and intergenerational emotional issues in contemporary China
- Practitioners in family education guidance and school communication
Not a good fit for
- Parents hoping for concrete parenting techniques and step-by-step instructions
- Readers expecting light, story-driven narratives who are impatient with ethnographic writing
- Readers not yet in the parenting stage and uninterested in educational issues
Reading tips
- Read the introduction first to grasp the ethnographic problem awareness, then follow the chapters through the fieldwork stories of different families.
- While reading, jot down a list of what is "controllable and uncontrollable" in your own parenting and compare it with the families in the book.
- Read alongside parenting guides or educational policy texts to observe how the materials cited in the book are analyzed.
- After reading, discuss the book once with a partner or peers, turning the moral dilemmas in the book into concrete questions about your own family.
About the publisher
Shanghai Translation Publishing House is a Chinese publisher oriented mainly toward translation and publishing. Its publications cover foreign literature, world classics and classic works, as well as social culture, folk literature and classical poetry. The database contains 2,618 titles, including Never Let Me Go, Les Misérables (2 volumes), Don Quixote (illustrated collector's edition), The Complete Comedies of Molière (4 volumes), The Complete Novels of Kafka (3 volumes), The Collected Works of Dostoevsky (9-volume set), Reason and Persons, and Oedipus Rex (Translation Classics). Its author resources include foreign writers such as Kazuo Ishiguro, Victor Hugo, Cervantes and Molière, as well as translators such as Zheng Kelu, Sun Jiameng, Li Jianwu and Zhang Kun. The publisher has brands such as "Translation Classics Selections" and "Translation Documentary," and emphasizes translated works in foreign literature and the humanities and social sciences, while also publishing bilingual dictionaries and foreign-language educational books. Public information is limited; the above is based on the book information in the database.
Contents
- 版权信息
- 普通人的养育兵法
- 导言
- 第一章 童年的政治
- 第二章 可怕与模范
- 第三章 “手不听使唤”
- 第四章 创造条件，或，布置的技艺
- 第五章 电视空间中母亲观念的失败
- 第六章 投资人力资本，保存生命能量
- 第七章 情感银行
- 结语
- 致谢
- 参考文献
FAQ
Is "educational ethnography" too academic to read?
Can this book help me solve specific parenting problems?
Why are the research subjects concentrated on middle-class families in Kunming?
Comments
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About the author
Guan Yixin is an author about whom limited public information is available; details such as nationality, dates of birth and death, and educational background are not clearly recorded. One work by this author is held in the collection, Uncertain Love, which is classified under education and serves as the main basis for understanding their writing. Judging from this classification, Guan Yixin's focus appears to lie in the field of education, and the work may explore parent-child relationships, emotional upbringing, or the confusions encountered in growing up. The word "uncertain" in the title suggests reflection on the complexities and variables within education. Because more biographical and bibliographical information is lacking, it is difficult to assess the full range of the author's style and influence; readers may learn more about this author through the specific content of Uncertain Love.
Mao Chaoyu is an author with limited publicly available information. To date, only one work can be confirmed, Uncertain Love, commonly classified under education. Judging from this work and its category, the writing appears to center on emotional experience, relationships, and personal growth in educational settings, and may touch on parent-child or teacher-student relations or emotional education for young people, though the specific content and stance cannot be determined without further material. Since the author's nationality, dates of birth and death, English name, and personal background are not clearly recorded, this introduction makes no speculation about education, positions, awards, or creative development. On the available evidence, Mao Chaoyu's profile as a writer remains brief; readers may consider the themes of Uncertain Love and its educational classification to understand an orientation toward real emotional experience and educational topics, while the author's image and style await further documentation.
An Mengzhu is an author about whom limited public information is currently available; details such as nationality, dates of birth and death, and educational background have not been clearly recorded. The library holds one work by this author, titled Uncertain Love. According to the existing classification, this work falls under education, suggesting that the author's writing may relate to educational topics or touch on themes such as growth, parent-child relationships, and emotional education. The word "uncertain" in the title carries a reflective quality, hinting that the author may prefer a delicate and cautious approach to exploring the complex aspects of love and education rather than offering simple conclusions. Because verifiable material is very limited, it is difficult at present to assess the author's writing style and overall influence comprehensively. Readers may begin with the work itself and appreciate the observations and reflections presented within its limited scope; further information would be needed to complete the picture of the author's creative profile.
