Hope Daughter Becomes Phoenix

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Informant: Angela Cai, 19, F

Date Collected: 5/23/14

Genre: Proverb

Informant Data: Angela was born in Boston and raised in the Boston suburbs where she still lives. She is a freshman at Dartmouth College. Her mom is from Beijing, China and her dad is from Hunan, China. She speaks Chinglish with her parents at home and exclusively Mandarin with her extended family. She first heard this proverb in a Chinese class at Dartmouth. This item was collected through an interview.

Text/Texture 

Chinese: 望女成凤 (wàng nǚ chéng fèng)
Literal Translation: To hope daughter becomes phoenix

Free Translation: To hope one's daughter grows up to be a phoenix. 

Context: The phoenix is a traditional mythological animal representing good luck and auspiciousness that is associated with ideal femininity and the empress. The proverb is often used in a family context by parents talking about their hopes for their children, or other people wishing luck to another person's children.

Meaning/Interpretation: It means to have high hopes for your daughter to be successful.