Where Are We Going, Dad?

综艺节目《爸爸去哪儿》展现了打破中国传统的新时代男人积极参与到子女生活中的情景。

Five celebrity fathers and their children traipse around China, riding camels through the western deserts, fishing off the east coast, and selling vegetables for their bus fare home in remote southwestern Yunnan province. One dad doesn’t know how to do his daughter’s hair, but give him a couple of episodes—he’ll figure it out. Another one must survive with his son for three days in the desert, where, because neither can cook, the two only eat instant noodles.

五位星爸和他们的子女走遍大江南北，或而西部沙漠骑骆驼、东部海边捕鱼，或而远上西南的云南省为赚车费去卖菜。有位爸爸不会给女儿梳头，但若给他一些时间，应该能学会。还有一对父子必须在沙漠生活三天，因为都不太会做饭，父子俩只能吃泡面。

These story lines are part of Where Are We Going Dad? which, since its debut in October, has become one of China’s most popular television shows, averaging more than 600 million viewers each week (and more than 640 million downloads online). Sponsorship rights for the show’s second season sold for 312 million yuan (about $50 million), more than ten times higher than the rights to the first season. And searches for Where Are We Going Dad? turn up over 40 million hits on Sina Weibo, China’s Twitter.

以上都是《爸爸去哪儿》的部分情景。该节目从十月份首次播出以来，已迅速成为中国人气最旺的电视节目，每周有平均6亿人收看，且网络下载量也超过6.4亿。节目第二季的冠名权售价是3.12亿元（约0.5亿美元），比第一季的高出了十倍。同时关于《爸爸去哪儿》的搜索在新浪微博上就超过了4000万。

What accounts for the show’s popularity? The show features a new generation of Chinese fathers, who, as part of the country’s burgeoning middle class, have faced more exposure to modern child-rearing techniques such as taking an active role with their children.

是什么原因导致这档节目如此火爆？节目聚焦于中国新一代父亲——他们是新兴中产阶级，面临许多现代社会养育子女的问题，比如怎样和子女积极互动交流。

“In traditional Chinese culture, the conventional conception of parenthood is that the father is stern and the mother is kind. But on the show, we see fathers who are much gentler on their kids and more involved in their upbringing,” said Li Minyi, an associate professor of early childhood education at the leading Beijing Normal University. “This show raises an important question for modern Chinese society—what is the role of fathers in today’s China?”

“在中国传统文化中，人们对父母的固有观念就是‘严父慈母’。但从节目中，我们可以看到爸爸们对子女呵护有加，也很关心他们的成长。” 北京师范大学的学前教育副教授李敏谊这样表示。“这档节目向当今中国社会抛出了一个重要问题——在当今中国，父亲扮演着怎样的角色？”

Confucian tradition dictates that there is no human trait more important than filial piety: obeying your parents’ wishes and looking after them in their old age. But Chinese parents increasingly realize that discussing and respecting their children’s choices may be a more appropriate way to prepare them for modern society. “As they raise their children, parents are growing up at the same time,” said Wang Renping, a popular education expert, in an interview with the Qianjiang Evening News. “They cannot use parenting styles from 20 years ago to guide the development of children born 20 years later.”

儒学传统训诫：人性万般，孝道为先。我们应该遵从父母的意愿，并在父母年老时照顾他们。然而中国父母却越来越意识到，商讨并尊重子女的选择或许才是保证他们适应现代社会的恰当方式。“在孩子的教育过程中，父母是与之共同成长的，并不是父母以20年前的观念去指导20年后孩子的发展。” 著名教育专家王人平在接受《钱江晚报》的采访中说道。

Part of the appeal of Where Are We Going Dad? is the chance to peek into the lives of popular Chinese celebrities and their children. Audiences revel in watching the failed attempts of celebrity dads making dinner, braiding hair, and disciplining children—tasks often left to mothers in a society still influenced by the notion that “men rule outside and women rule inside.”

《爸爸去哪儿》的一大吸引力就是让人们有机会了解中国名人及其子女的生活。观众乐于看到星爸们不会煮饭、不知道怎么编 辫子和管教孩子——在这个仍然深受“男主外女主内”观念影响的社会，这些事情通常都是妈妈们做的。