Glossary of Chinese Terms

Banji Youhua Dashi (班级优化大师): A mobile application for class management and parent–teacher communication used by some Chinese teachers and parents.

Ban zhuren (班主任): The head teacher or class teacher of a specific class who is responsible for the overall management of the class, the wellbeing of the students in the class, and communication with students’ parents or guardians.

Bierenjia de haizi (别人家的孩子): Literally ‘children of other families’. This expression is often used to highlight the accomplishments, talents, or good behaviours of someone else’s child, in contrast to one’s own child. This expression is commonly used to express admiration, envy, or make playful or humorous comparisons between children of different abilities.

Chaoqian xuexi (超前学习): Literally ‘advance learning’ or ‘learning ahead’. In the context of education for schoolgoing children, this term describes a learning style where students study subjects, topics, or materials ahead of their current grade level or scheduled curriculum.

Dali deng (大力灯/大力智能学习灯): An eyesight-friendly smart desk lamp designed for school-age children and produced by ByteDance, it is equipped with smart functions such as intelligent dimming, parent–child conferencing, online dictionaries, and more.

Daka (打卡): Literally ‘punch-in card’ or ‘check-in’, typically involving individuals recording or confirming their presence at a specific location, event, or activity. In the context of this book, daka is used to describe Chinese parents’ parenting tasks within parent–teacher chat groups on messaging apps and edtech platforms.

DingTalk (钉钉): An enterprise communication and collaboration platform developed by Alibaba Group. DingTalk has been widely adopted by primary and secondary schools in China as a parent–school communication tool since the pandemic-driven shift to online learning in 2020.

Douyin (抖音): The mainland Chinese counterpart of TikTok, which is a short-form video hosting service owned by ByteDance.

Gaokao (高考): An abbreviation of gaodeng jiaoyu ruxue kaoshi (高等教育入学考试) in Chinese, which translates into ‘National Higher Education Entrance Examination’ in English. Gaokao is a crucial standardised test in China that determines the eligibility of students for admission into higher education institutions, such as universities and colleges.

Hangzhou Jiaoyu (杭州教育): Literally ‘Hangzhou Education’, an official class management and parent–teacher communication platform launched by the Hangzhou government.

Jiankang daka (健康打卡): Literally ‘health punch-in’. In the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, jiankang daka refers to a system or practice where individuals were required to provide information about their health status regularly, often implemented by schools, workplaces, or public institutions to monitor and manage the health of individuals.

Jiaxiao lianxi ce (家校联系册): Literally ‘home–school communication book’; this is a physical book which is used to facilitate communication and information exchange between parents or guardians and teachers to foster mutual cooperation in guiding the child’s educational and personal development.

Jianfu (减负): Literally ‘reduce burdens’ in order to alleviate pressure in the context of China’s stressful education system. Jianfu is used as a catchall term to refer to the reforms established by the Chinese government to lighten students the academic workload and pressure to excel, primarily through the reduction of excessive homework assignments.

Jielong (接龙): Literally ‘linking dragons’, which originally referred to a word chain or word-linking game where participants take turns saying words that are connected through shared characters or meanings. In online chat groups or messaging platforms, jielong is used to describe a process in which participants take turns registering or signing up for an event, a activity, or a particular item in a sequential order. Typically, they reply to the preceding message by copying the entire list of names before adding his or her name at the end, thereby extending the ‘dragon’ by making the chain of linked names longer with each reply.

Jinbu Bang (进步榜): Literally ‘Improvement Billboard’ or ‘Progress List’, referring to a list or chart that recognises and acknowledges the progress or improvement made by individuals in a certain skill, subject, or area.

Jiwa jiazhang (鸡娃家长): Literally ‘parents of chicken blood kids’. The term ‘ji 鸡(chicken)’ is derived from Jixue (鸡血 – see next item in Glossary), referring to a practice of urging or pressuring someone to fulfil a certain objective. ‘娃(wa)’ is a colloquial term for ‘child’ or ‘kid’, and ‘家长(jiazhang)’ is parents. Jiwa jiazhang is commonly used to describe pushy parents who are overzealous and obsessive about their children’s academic achievements.

Jixue (鸡血): Literally ‘chicken blood’, which is often used colloquially to describe a state of heightened excitement, intense enthusiasm, or excessive energy, conveying the idea of someone being overly idealistic or hyperactive. In the context of parenting or education, jixue is often used to describe a parenting approach that is overly demanding or pressuring, placing great emphasis on pushing children to excel academically or in various extracurricular pursuits such as arts or sports.

Pengyouquan (朋友圈): Literally ‘friend circles’, the Chinese name of ‘Moments’, a social media feature on WeChat where users can share updates, photos, videos, and posts with their selected contacts.

Piyu benming (疲于奔命): Literally ‘exhausted from running around’ or ‘wearied by endless toil’. This expression is used to convey the idea of being extremely busy, tired, or overworked due to a hectic and demanding schedule.

Pinma (拼妈): Literally ‘competitive mothering’, which describes a social trend in China where mothers are playing increasingly crucial role in children’s achievements and wellbeing. The core concept of pinma is that mothers with better parenting skills, higher aspirations, and greater dedication to children’s education are able to raise children with superior academic achievements.

Shuangjian (双减): Literally ‘double reduction’ which is related to the glossary item Jianfu above. It is a truncation of jianfu jianya (减负减压) which is literally ‘reduce burden and reduce stress’. In the context of education in China, shuangjian refers to a policy aimed at reducing the academic burden on students so as to relieve academic pressure.

Weibo (微博): Chinese translation of ‘microblog’. In the contemporary Chinese context, Weibo commonly refers to Sina Weibo, which is one of the most popular social media and microblogging platforms in China.

Xiao heiwu (小黑屋): Literally ‘little black hut’ or ‘small dark room’. In educational or school settings, xiao heiwu is commonly used metaphorically to describe a disciplinary measure where students are temporarily isolated or separated from their peers as a form of punishment and for them to reflect on their actions and misdeeds.

Xiao Huangdi (小皇帝): Literally ‘Little Emperor’, a term which is widely used in Chinese culture to describe the single child of many Chinese families born under the one-child policy that was in effect in China from 1979 to 2015. The term highlights the fact that these only children are often doted on like little emperors within their families, enjoying pampering, indulgence, and a strong sense of entitlement.

Xiaohongshu (小红书): Literally ‘Little Red Book’. Xiaohongshu is a popular Chinese social media and e-commercial application that is visually oriented and is similar to Instagram.

Xiaoxuntong (校讯通): Literally ‘School Information Portal’ or ‘School Information Platform’, which refers to a communication and information system used by Chinese schools to connect students, parents, and teachers for home-school conferencing.

Yiqixue (一起学): A mobile application for class management and parent–teacher communication used by some Chinese teachers and parents.

Yuerwang (育儿网): A Chinese online platform designed to provide a wealth of information and resources related to parenting, pregnancy, and child development (website: http://www.ci123.com/).

Zhongkao (中考): An abbreviation of Zhongxue Jieduan Xueye Shuiping Kaoshi (中学阶段学业水平考试), which translates as ‘High School Stage Academic Proficiency Examination’. Zhongkao is a significant standardised examination taken by students in China typically at the end of their junior high school, determining eligibility for admission to different types of high schools. See Gaokao above.