Hey everyone, Edward here.

Yesterday was June 1st, International Children's Day (六一儿童节). In Chinese primary schools, this day is a massive deal, almost like celebrating Chinese New Year at school. Regular classes are canceled, and replaced with talent shows, a school charity bazaar (义卖), and giant feasts.

This year was extra intense for me. My daughters turned 10 years old, which schools in China celebrate grandly as a Growth Ceremony (成长礼). To even attend the event, parents had to battle for limited spots via a stressful mobile app sign-up chain (接龙), where all the slots vanished in literally three seconds.

Watching my girls perform on stage, one specific word kept popping up in my head that you hear constantly in modern Chinese education culture: Tuoju (托举). Culturally, it represents the parenting philosophy of sacrificing your own time, energy, and finances to act as a human scaffold, lifting your children up so they can stand on a higher platform in society.

It made me reflect deeply. I grew up in a traditional, poor rural village 30 years ago where our only toy was mud. The difference between my past and their present is a true tian rang zhi bie (天壤之别) — as vast as the distance between heaven and earth. Yet, seeing my daughters grow up in Shanghai with so many resources, I feel incredibly comforted, even though being a parent here means you are constantly giving both money and effort (又出钱又出力).

I created the attached info-diagram to break down the 5 essential real-life terms from this experience, including cultural concepts like 仪式感 (sense of ritual), 接龙, 义卖, 托举, and 成长礼. Enjoy!

Learn Real Life Mandarin: 5 Essential Terms from Surviving Children's Day in Shanghai (B2-C1)