Amy Lynn Chua (born October 26, 1962), also known as "the Tiger Mom",
is an American lawyer, legal scholar, and writer. She is the John M. Duff Jr. Professor of Law at
Yale Law School
Yale Law School (Yale Law or YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824 and has been ranked as the best law school in the United States by '' U.S. News & Worl ...
with an expertise in international business transactions, law and development,
ethnic conflict, and globalization. She joined the Yale
faculty in 2001 after teaching at
Duke Law School
Duke University School of Law (Duke Law School or Duke Law) is the law school of Duke University, a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. One of Duke's 10 schools and colleges, the School of Law is a constituent academic unit th ...
for seven years. Prior to teaching, she was a
corporate law associate at
Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton
Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP (known as Cleary Gottlieb) is an American multinational law firm headquartered at One Liberty Plaza in New York City. Known as a white shoe law firm, Cleary employs over 1,200 lawyers worldwide.
History
The ...
.
Chua is also known for her parenting
memoir
A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based in the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autobiog ...
''
Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother''. In 2011, she was named one of ''
Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...
'' magazine's 100 most influential people, one of ''
The Atlantic
''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science.
It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...
'' Brave Thinkers, and one of ''
Foreign Policy'' Global Thinkers.
Family background
Chua was born in
Champaign, Illinois
Champaign ( ) is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, United States. The population was 88,302 at the 2020 census. It is the tenth-most populous municipality in Illinois and the fourth most populous city in Illinois outside the Chicago metro ...
, to ethnic
Chinese-Filipino parents with
Hoklo ancestry
who emigrated from the Philippines. Her parents raised her speaking
Hokkien
The Hokkien () variety of Chinese is a Southern Min language native to and originating from the Minnan region, where it is widely spoken in the south-eastern part of Fujian in southeastern mainland China. It is one of the national languages ...
.
Her father,
Leon O. Chua, is a professor of
electrical engineering and computer science at the
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...
. His
ancestral hometown is
Quanzhou,
Fujian
Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its cap ...
.
Chua's mother was born in
China in 1936, before moving to the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
at the age of two.
She subsequently converted to
Catholicism
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
in high school and graduated from the
University of Santo Tomas
The University of Santo Tomas (also known as UST and officially as the Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas, Manila) is a private, Catholic research university in Manila, Philippines. Founded on April 28, 1611, by Spanish friar Migue ...
, with a degree in
chemical engineering
Chemical engineering is an engineering field which deals with the study of operation and design of chemical plants as well as methods of improving production. Chemical engineers develop economical commercial processes to convert raw materials int ...
, ''
summa cum laude''.
Early life and education
Chua was raised
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
and lived in
West Lafayette, Indiana
West Lafayette () is a city in Wabash Township, Tippecanoe County, Indiana, United States, about northwest of the state capital of Indianapolis and southeast of Chicago. West Lafayette is directly across the Wabash River from its sister cit ...
. When she was 8 years old, her family moved to
Berkeley, California
Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and E ...
.
Chua described herself as an "ugly kid" during her school days; she was
bullied
Bullying is the use of force, coercion, hurtful teasing or threat, to abuse, aggressively dominate or intimidate. The behavior is often repeated and habitual. One essential prerequisite is the perception (by the bully or by others) of an im ...
in school for her foreign accent (which she has since lost) and was the target of
racial slurs from several classmates.
She went to
El Cerrito High School, in
El Cerrito, where she graduated as
valedictorian
Valedictorian is an academic title for the highest-performing student of a graduating class of an academic institution.
The valedictorian is commonly determined by a numerical formula, generally an academic institution's grade point average (GPA ...
of her class. In college, she graduated
Phi Beta Kappa
The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal ...
and ''
magna cum laude'' with an A.B. in
Economics
Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services.
Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyzes ...
in 1984 from
Harvard College
Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...
, where she was named an Elizabeth Cary Agassiz Scholar and a John Harvard Scholar. She obtained her
J.D. ''
cum laude'' in 1987 from
Harvard Law School, where she was the first
Asian American officer of the ''
Harvard Law Review'', serving as
executive editor
Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to:
Role or title
* Executive, a senior management role in an organization
** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators
** Executive dire ...
.
After law school, Chua
clerked for Chief Judge
Patricia M. Wald on the
United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.
Books
Chua has written five books: two studies of international affairs, a parenting memoir, a book on ethnic-American culture and its correlation with socio-economic success within the United States, and a book about the role of tribal loyalties in American politics and its foreign policy.
Her first book, ''
World on Fire: How Exporting Free Market Democracy Breeds Ethnic Hatred and Global Instability'' (2003), explores the ethnic conflict caused in many societies by disproportionate economic and political influence of "
market dominant minorities" and the resulting resentment in the less affluent majority. ''World on Fire'', which was a ''
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' bestseller, selected by ''
The Economist
''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Eco ...
'' as one of the Best Books of 2003, and named by
Tony Giddens in ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' as one of the "Top Political Reads of 2003", examines how globalization and democratization since 1989 have affected the relationship between market-dominant minorities and the wider population.
Her second book, ''
Day of Empire: How Hyperpowers Rise to Global Dominance – and Why They Fall'' (2007), examines seven major empires and posits that their success depended on their tolerance of minorities.
Chua's third book, ''
Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother'', published in January 2011, is a memoir about her parenting journey using strict
Confucianist child rearing techniques, which she claims is typical for Chinese immigrant parents. Despite being sometimes interpreted as a how-to manual for parenting, the book has been critically viewed as an account "of how children can become rebellious and alienated when one-size-fits-all education philosophies are applied, regardless of their personality or aptitudes."
It was an international bestseller in the United States, South Korea, Poland, Israel, Germany, United Kingdom, and China, and has been translated into 30 languages. The book also received a huge backlash and media attention and ignited global debate about different parenting techniques and cultural attitudes that foster such techniques. The uproar provoked by the book included death threats and racial slurs directed at Chua, and calls for her arrest on child-abuse charges.
Chua taught
J. D. Vance during at least his first year at Yale Law. She persuaded him to write his memoir ''
Hillbilly Elegy
''Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis'' is a bestselling 2016 memoir by future Ohio Senator J. D. Vance about the Appalachian values of his Kentucky family and the social and socioeconomic problems of his hometown of Mi ...
,'' which became a New York Times bestseller and a film starring
Amy Adams
Amy Lou Adams (born August 20, 1974) is an American actress. Known for both her comedic and dramatic roles, she has been featured three times in annual rankings of the world's highest-paid actresses. She has received various accolades, incl ...
and
Glenn Close.
Her fourth book, co-written with husband
Jed Rubenfeld, is ''
The Triple Package: How Three Unlikely Traits Explain the Rise and Fall of Cultural Groups in America'' (published in February 2014). The book received mixed reviews. Lucy Kellaway, writing for ''
Financial Times
The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Ni ...
'', called it "the best universal theory of success I've seen."
Emma Brockes, writing in ''The Guardian'', commended the book for "draw
ngon eye-opening studies of the influence of stereotypes and expectations on various ethnic and cultural groups ... The authors' willingness to pursue an intellectual inquiry that others wouldn't is bracing." However, ''The Guardian'' also published a satirical review-cum-summary written by
John Crace, who used one of the Triple Package traits—impulse control—to tell potential readers to "resist this book." The book was also roundly criticized for cultural stereotyping and ignoring additional factors such as intergenerational wealth transmission.
''
Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...
'' writer
Susan Adams criticized it for racist overtones and said Chua's suggestion that certain cultural groups are more conventionally successful than others given her "three-pronged prescription
or success is at best "
pop psychology
Popular psychology (sometimes shortened as pop psychology or pop psych) is the concepts and theories about human mental life and behavior that are purportedly based on psychology and that find credence among and pass muster with the populace. The ...
."
An empirical study by
Joshua Hart and
Christopher Chabris found that "
ere was little evidence for the Triple Package theory."
In February 2018, Chua's fifth book was published. Titled ''
Political Tribes: Group Instinct and the Fate of Nations'', it examines how group loyalty often outweighs any other ideological considerations. She argues that the failure to recognize the place of group loyalty has played a major role in the failure of US foreign policy and the rise of
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...
. The book received overwhelmingly positive reviews from across the political spectrum.
David Frum
David Jeffrey Frum (; born June 30, 1960) is a Canadian-American political commentator and a former speechwriter for President George W. Bush, who is currently a senior editor at ''The Atlantic'' as well as an MSNBC contributor. In 2003, Frum a ...
, writing for ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'', praised Chua for her willingness to approach "the no-go areas around which others usually tiptoe." ''
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' described the book as "compact, insightful, disquieting, yet ultimately hopeful," and
Ezra Klein
Ezra Klein (born May 10, 1984) is an American journalist, political analyst, ''New York Times'' columnist, and the host of ''The Ezra Klein Show'' podcast. He is a co-founder of '' Vox'' and formerly served as the website's editor-at-large. He h ...
called the book "fascinating" on his podcast.
The book received a few criticisms. ''The Guardian'' called it "a well-intentioned book that never quite comes together." The ''Financial Times'' stated that it was "an important book" and supported Chua's argument "that America's liberal elite has contributed to Trump's rise by failing to acknowledge its own sense of tribalism"; it did, however, also state that it left the "crucial question" of how to create a "non-tribal world" unanswered.
Yale Law School
Chua is known for mentoring students from marginalized communities and for helping students get judicial clerkships.
In 2018, ''
HuffPost
''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...
'' and ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' alleged that Chua had advised female students to dress "outgoing" when seeking employment. Chua denied this claim.
In 2019, Chua agreed not to drink or socialize with students outside of class.
[
]
Personal life
Chua lives in New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134 ...
, and is married to Yale Law School professor Jed Rubenfeld. She has two daughters, Sophia and Louisa ("Lulu"). The former appeared in the ''New Yorker'' in 2014 as a Harvard member of Kappa Alpha Theta
Kappa Alpha Theta (), also known simply as Theta, is an international women’s fraternity founded on January 27, 1870, at DePauw University, formerly Indiana Asbury. It was the first Greek-letter fraternity established for women. The main arc ...
and ROTC.[Marantz, Andrew, "Ink: The Tiger Cub Speaks," The New Yorker, Feb. 10, 2014, p.20, 22.]
Bibliography
* '' World On Fire: How Exporting Free Market Democracy Breeds Ethnic Hatred and Global Instability''. 2002. Doubleday.
* '' Day of Empire: How Hyperpowers Rise to Global Dominance – and Why They Fall''. 2007. Doubleday.
* '' Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother''. 2011. Penguin Books.
* '' The Triple Package: How Three Unlikely Traits Explain the Rise and Fall of Cultural Groups in America''. 2014. Penguin Books.
* '' Political Tribes: Group Instinct and the Fate of Nations''. 2018. Penguin Books.
References
Further reading
*
External links
*
Biography on Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother
Leigh Bureau speaker profile
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chua, Amy
1962 births
Living people
21st-century American memoirists
21st-century American women writers
American academics of Chinese descent
American economics writers
American family and parenting writers
American legal writers
American political writers
American women lawyers
American women memoirists
American writers of Chinese descent
Bamboo network
Catholics from California
Catholics from Connecticut
Catholics from Illinois
Catholics from Indiana
Connecticut lawyers
Connecticut Republicans
Corporate lawyers
Development specialists
Duke University faculty
Educators from Connecticut
Harvard College alumni
Harvard Law School alumni
Hokkien people
International relations scholars
People from Champaign, Illinois
People from West Lafayette, Indiana
Women legal scholars
Writers from Berkeley, California
Writers from Illinois
Writers from Indiana
Writers from New Haven, Connecticut
Yale Law School faculty