The term mabao came into my life through a remarkable conversation with my neighbor, a thirty-year-old Chinese man. According to him, life without his mom “would be like the end of the world.” Bob’s view of his relationship with his mother intrigued me, and gradually, I learned more about Bob’s daily routine and his life. Bob’s sixty-year-old mother prepares breakfast for him before driving him to work, as he dislikes public transport. Similarly, Bob is unable to keep a job for longer than one year as he is unwilling to endure the challenges it brings. More astonishingly, Bob’s older mother always provides financial support for thirty-year-old Bob under any circumstances.

This story is an introduction to a cultural keyword: mabao. Imagine if this scenario happened in real life. What images pop up in your mind? Which terms would you use to describe this phenomenon? As unbelievable as this story is, the crazier truth is that Bob is not a special individual as people might think. In fact, there are many people like him who are currently living in China, and they are often called mabao. The word mabao literally translates to “Mom’s sweetheart.” It highlights the abundant love of mothers towards their children. However, the more profound meaning of mabao lies within social elements established in Chinese culture. These elements that reinforce the phenomenon of mabao are the one-child policy, less individuality, and the concept of filial piety that requires children to respect, support, and take care of their family.

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There is an interesting saying, “mabao little emperors are all over the place,”[1] which perfectly demonstrates the mabao phenomenon in daily life. These “little emperors” receive both over-protection and the freedom to do whatever they wish without punishment. It raises one gender difference in particular: generally, mabao is commonly used to characterize boys instead of girls. Then, why does this gender difference occur? With that in mind, this pattern is at the root of Chinese culture. The Chinese well-known saying “Men should not cry easily” (男兒有淚不輕彈 Nán’ér yǒu lèi bù qīng dàn) emphasizes the fortitude and independence of men. Men are expected to be reliant on themselves in Chinese culture. Therefore, if a man requests permission from his mom for everything, people could define him negatively as a mabao.

To better understand the definition of mabao, people might wonder what the typical examples of mabao are. In fact, the most common definition of mabao would be overprotection from parents. A recent news report introduces a situation that surprised me: mothers come to their child’s college dormitory to mop the floor and complain that the school does not help with cleaning.[2] This raises particular questions: Is it not the child’s responsibility to tidy up his or her dormitory as a college student? Why should the responsibility of cleaning the floor be done by the parents?

Another illustration is spoiling by parents. Being indulged by families, those children are free to do whatever they desire, but they sometimes end up hurting others. For instance, there was an article in the Taiwanese newspaper Liberty Times (自由時報 zìyóu shíbào) that reported an incident about mabao in 2020.[3] Mr. Wong’s mother refused to lend money to him, thus he started a fire to burn the house down as a way of venting his anger. However, his mother still protected her son in court. She claimed that she accidentally set fire to the house when cooking, but her word was not accepted by the court.

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Under China’s one-child policy, a child’s issues became a priority for the whole family. Parents would thus work as hard as possible to provide the best for their child and therefore often unconsciously spoil him or her. And although this policy is not implemented in Taiwan,  Taiwan has one of the lowest birth rates in the world,[4] so this phenomenon exists there too. Furthermore, Chinese parents tend to help arrange their children’s lives. From the Chinese parents’ perspective, it is their obligation to make the best decisions for their children. Yet, it ends up reducing the children’s individuality. Additionally, Confucian filial piety (孝道 xiào dào) plays a significant role in influencing Chinese society. People respect and obey their parents’ instructions as this is one of the filial piety guidelines. Therefore, people will likely repeat this pattern when they become adults.

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In conclusion, the term mabao is a representation of the characteristics of Chinese culture. It presents the concept of children blindly following their parents’ words without the capacity to think independently. In addition, mabao children would often be dependent on their parents as their parents tolerate their children’s behaviors under any circumstances. In short, the mabao phenomenon has its roots in the Chinese culture of the government’s policy, the parental style, and the Confucian philosophy. However, the mabao phenomenon has arisen more often in recent years and therefore, people should pay attention to its potential consequences for society.