Fong, V. L. Paradise Redefined: Transnational Chinese Students and the Quest for Flexible Citizenship in the Developed World. Stanford University Press, Stanford, 2011. ISBN: 978-0-8047-7266-2. Pages: 280.

Paradise Redefined tells the story of a generation of Chinese children without siblings as they move through their educational careers, first at home and then abroad. The books tracks the pathways of ordinary youth from socioeconomically and academically average Dalian, China to Australia, Europe, Japan, New Zealand, North America and Singapore. In the process the author investigates how and why these young Chinese—raised with heavily concentrated parental investment and extremely high expectations— chose to study abroad; how they won and lost various kinds of freedom abroad; and how they came to decide to stay abroad or return to China. Ultimately, they book provides a window on how these individuals came to redefine what they consider “paradise”. Interviews, participant observation and surveys provide valuable information about the transnational journeys of Chinese students in the developed world.

Stanford University Press