by Amy Chua
We all have to die. But which way does that cut? In any case, I’ve just told Jed that I want to get another dog.
Acknowledgments
I have so many people to thank:
My mother and father—no one has believed in me more, and they have my deepest admiration and gratitude.
Sophia and Louisa, my greatest source of happiness, the pride and joy of my life.
My extraordinary sisters, Michelle, Katrin, and Cindy.
And most of all, my husband, Jed Rubenfeld, who for twenty-five years has read every word I’ve written. I am the unbelievably lucky beneficiary of his kindness and genius.
My brother-in-law Or Gozani and my nieces and nephews Amalia, Dimitri, Diana, Jake, and Ella.
The following dear friends, for insightful comments, passionate debates, and invaluable support: Alexis Contant and Jordan Smoller, Sylvia and Walter Austerer, Susan and Paul Fiedler, Marina Santilli, Anne Dailey, Jennifer Brown (for “humbled”!), Nancy Greenberg, Anne Tofflemire, Sarah Bilston and Daniel Markovits, and Kathleen Brown-Dorato and Alex Dorato. Thanks also to Elizabeth Alexander, Barbara Rosen, Roger Spottiswoode, Emily Bazelon, Linda Burt, and Annie Witt for their generous encouragement.
All those who helped instill the love of music in Sophia and Lulu, including Michelle Zingale, Carl Shugart, Fiona Murray, Jody Rowitsch, and Alexis Zingale of the Neighborhood Music School; the fabulous Richard Brooks of the Norwalk Youth Symphony; Annette Chang Barger, YingYing Ho,Yu-ting Huang, Nancy Jin, Kiwon Nahm, and Alexandra Newman; the exceptional Naoko Tanaka and Almita Vamos; and especially my good friend, the incomparable Wei-Yi Yang.
All of the wonderful teachers Sophia and Lulu were lucky enough to have at the Foote School (and I actually loved the Medieval Festival), especially Judy Cuthbertson and Cliff Sahlin.
On the tennis front: Alex Dorato, Christian Appleman, and Stacia Fonseca.
My students Jacqueline Esai, Ronan Farrow, Sue Guan, Stephanie Lee, Jim Ligtenberg, Justin Lo, Peter McElligott, Luke Norris, Amelia Rawls, Nabiha Syed, and Elina Tetelbaum.
Finally, my heartfelt thanks to the amazing Tina Bennett, the best agent imaginable, and to my editor and publisher, the brilliant, unsurpassed Ann Godoff.
Notes
The Chinese zodiac Tiger epigrams are from “Chinese Zodiac: Tiger,” http://pages.infinit.net/garrick/chinese/tiger.html (visited December 18, 2009), and “Chinese Zodiac: Tiger,” http://www.chinesezodiac.com/tiger.php (visited December 18, 2009).
Chapter 1: The Chinese Mother
The statistics I cite are from the following studies: Ruth K. Chao, “Chinese and European American Mothers’ Beliefs About the Role of Parenting in Children’s School Success,” Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology 27 (1996): 403-23; Paul E. Jose, Carol S. Huntsinger, Phillip R. Huntsinger, and Fong-Ruey Liaw, “Parental Values and Practices Relevant to Young Children’s Social Development in Taiwan and the United States,” Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology 31 (2000): 677-702; and Parminder Parmar, “Teacher or Playmate? Asian Immigrant and Euro-American Parents’ Participation in Their Young Children’s Daily Activities,” Social Behavior and Personality 36(2) (2008): 163-76.
Chapter 3: Louisa
The country music song I quote is “Wild One,” written by Jaime Kyle, Pat Bunch, and Will Rambeaux. My Chinese zodiac characteristics come from the following Web sites: “Monkey Facts,” http://www.chineseinkdesign.com/Chinese-Zodiac-Monkey. html (visited December 18, 2009); “The Pig/Boar Personality,” http://www.chinavoc.com/zodiac/pig/person.asp (visited December 18, 2009); and “Chinese Zodiac: Tiger,” http://pages.infinit.net/garrick/chinese/tiger.html (visited December 18, 2009).
Chapter 5: On Generational Decline
For an illuminating study of Asian “music moms,” see Grace Wang, “Interlopers in the Realm of High Culture: ‘Music Moms’ and the Performance of Asian and Asian American Identities,” American Quarterly 61(4) (2009): 881-903.
Chapter 8: Lulu’s Instrument
Brent Hugh, “Claude Debussy and the Javanese Gamelan,” available at http://brenthugh.com/debnotes/debussy-gamelan.pdf (visited December 12, 2009) (script for a lecture recital given at the University of Missouri-Kansas City in 1998).
Chapter 9: The Violin
On how to hold the violin, see Carl Flesch, The Art of Violin Playing, Book One, trans. and ed. Eric Rosenblith (New York: Carl Fischer, 2000), 3.
Chapter 12: The Cadenza
On Asian overrepresentation at top music schools: At leading music schools and departments, Asians and Asian Americans constitute from 30 to 50 percent of the student population. The numbers are often higher at the pre-college level. At highly regarded programs such as Juilliard Pre-College, Asians and Asian Americans compose more than half the student body; the two largest groups represented are students of Chinese and Korean descent studying the violin or piano.
Grace Wang, “Interlopers in the Realm of High Culture: ‘Music Moms’ and the Performance of Asian and Asian American Identities,” American Quarterly 61(4) (2009): 882.
Chapter 13: Coco
On Dr. Stanley Coren and his rankings, see “The Intelligence of Dogs,” available at http://petrix.com/dogint/ (visited July 24, 2009). Other sources I cite: Michael D. Jones, “Samoyeds Breed—FAQ” (1997), available at http://www.faqs.org/faqs/dogs-faq/breeds/samoyeds/ (visited July 21, 2009); and SnowAngels Samoyeds, “The Samoyed Dog: A Short History,” available at http://www.snowangelssamoyeds.com/The_Samoyed.html (visited July 21, 2009) (italics added).
About the Author
Amy Chua is the John M. Duff Professor of Law at Yale Law School and author of World on Fire: How Exporting Free Market Democracy Breeds Ethnic Hatred and Global Instability and Day of Empire: How Hyperpowers Rise to Global Dominance—and Why They Fall. She lives with her husband, two daughters, and two Samoyeds in New Haven, Connecticut.
ALSO BY AMY CHUA
Day of Empire: How Hyperpowers Rise to Global Dominance—and Why They Fall
World on Fire: How Exporting Free Market Democracy
Breeds Ethnic Hatred and Global Instability