The whole thing was energized by hordes of terrified parents, each of whom was burdened by the thought of an only child like an albatross around the neck.

A number of educators who attended Dewey’s lectures and classes subsequently tried to incorporate his ideas into Chinese schools. One of these figures was Hu Yanli, who eventually became the principal of Chengdu’s most important primary school.

If one guiding principle of Chinese primary education was “Don’t be a sucker,” another seemed to be: “Fear everything outside the classroom.”

The title of Dewey’s first lecture in China was “Democratic Developments in America.” More than a thousand attended, and soon the American was being hailed as a “second Confucius.”

Though there weren’t many, they stood out, because Reform business stories had their own Shakespearean qualities.

In an odd way, the book’s warnings had come true: as Chinese society became more capitalist, more prosperous, and more technologically advanced, many people sensed that spiritual fulfilment was elusive. They also became more comfortable with individuals who identified as LGBTQ.

standard pronoun was first-person plural, as if parent and child had merged:

If a request was rejected, it was worth trying a different office, a different cadre; in a country of such size, there were always other rivers.

Project 985.