Name: Kelly Wright
Title: Little Emperor
Location: Beijing, China
Program: East China Normal University, Shanghai, China, CIEE, Fall 2004
Description: Since the implementation of the ìOne Childî policy, a country that once celebrated ancestor worship now focuses its affections on the newest generation of Chinese. Children are the recipients of an almost fanatical parenting that has spurred the use of the term ìlittle emperorsî by scholars and journalists. This ìlittle emperorî is a child of merchants in Beijingís weekend market Pangjiayuan. The market is always bustling with the usual curious tourists and fraught with the shrill shouts from vendors of ìOk, ok, I sell you very cheap- for you, my friend, very cheap!î This childís parents have fashioned a makeshift bed for him; completely oblivious to the chaos surrounding him, he sleeps peacefully atop their merchandise, a pile of placemats in various Oriental patterns. The Chinese are extremely proud parents, so I am continually surprised to learn that the pictures I take of some couplesí children are often the first of their kind. In this instance, however, the couple informed me that they already had quite a photo collection of their ìlittle emperor.î They hovered around my camera for a minute anyway, and then went back to enticing customers with a line ìHello, you like? I give you very cheap.î