中国大学里为何突现“爱的帐篷”[1]

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These are called "love tents" but they're not what you think.

虽被称为“爱的帐篷”，但是它们可与你所想不同。

Chinese colleges have come up with an unusual way to help freshmen settle in.

中国的大学别出心裁，以一种特殊的方式帮助新生适应校园。

They turn their gyms into campsites for moms and dads, some of whom have traveled thousands of miles across the country, to say goodbye.

学校把体育馆作为营地让家长落脚，这其中不乏一些人从国内各处不远万里来送别他们的宝贝。

For the past five years, Tianjin University in northern China has provided free accommodation for parents in what it calls "tents of love." Other schools let parents sleep on mats in school gymnasiums.

过去五年来，天津大学一直为家长们提供免费住处，并将其称为“爱的帐篷”。其它学校也让家长借宿在学校体育馆的垫子上。

"Going to college is a life moment and my parents didn't want to miss that," said Xiong Jinqi, a freshman at Tianjin University majoring in applied chemistry.

熊金琦 His parents traveled with him on the 19-hour train journey from Jiangxi province in southern China.

他父母陪他一起从中国南方的江西省坐了19个小时的火车来到学校。

"My parents are eager to see what my life will be in the next four years."

“他们特别想看到我未来四年的生活会是什么样子。”

Coddled?

溺爱？

Images of schools gyms packed with parents have been widely shared on Chinese social media prompting a debate on whether China's only children are too coddled.

学校体育馆里挤满家长的图片在中国的社交媒体上广泛流传，引起了人们对中国独生子女是否太过娇惯的争论。

Some have voiced criticism of Tianjin University, saying that they think both the parents and the children should be more independent.

有人批评天津大学的做法，他们认为家长和孩子都应该更加独立。

Of course, "helicopter parents" like these aren't confined to China.

当然，这样的“直升机父母”也并非仅限于中国。

But China's millennials are often doted on by parents and two sets of grandparents, prompting fears that China has produced a generation of "little emperors" unable or unwilling to take care of themselves.

但中国的千禧一代，常常是被爸妈哄着，爷爷奶奶姥姥姥爷宠着，使人担心中国培养了一代“小皇帝”，不愿意自理或缺乏自理能力。

Xiong Bingqi, the deputy director of think-tank 21st Century Education Research Institute, thinks the problem is overstated.

21世纪教育研究院的副院长熊丙奇认为，问题严重性被夸大了。

"It has always been a problem in China that at the start of every school year, colleges are packed with parents who come along to drop off their children and stay with them," he said.

“每一次新学年开始的时候，大学里都挤满了送学生的家长，并且还会呆几天，这在中国一直是个问题，”他说。

"For some families, it's their way to celebrate the first-ever family member who's able to go to college," Xiong added. "There's nothing wrong with sharing the happiness."

“对一些家庭来说，这是对家里出了第一位大学生的庆祝方式，”熊院长补充道。“分享这份喜悦没什么不对的。”

'No brainer'

“人之常情”

Xiong's father said the decision to escort their son was a no-brainer. He and his wife are among the many "campers" who sleep in the 550 temporary tents set up in the Tianjin University gym.

熊金琦的爸爸说护送儿子来学校是想都不用想的事儿。他和妻子两人同众多“露营者”一起，睡在天津大学体育馆搭起的550个临时帐篷里。

"My child has lots of luggage and we also want to go travel," said his father Xiong Yonghui.

“孩子要拿很多行李，我俩也想旅旅游，”熊金琦的父亲熊永辉说。

"The hotels nearby are fully booked so I had to sleep in the tents."

“附近的旅馆都订满了，只能住帐篷。”

Their son also shrugged off the criticism although he said he was looking forward to living on his own for the first time.

尽管他们的儿子说自己期望着开始第一次独立的生活，但也对批评的声音不屑一顾。

"Being accompanied by my parents doesn't mean I'm spoiled."

“爸妈陪着并不代表我被惯坏了。”

Vocabulary

coddle: 娇养；溺爱

no-brainer: 无需用脑的事