Chinese characters are the treasure of the Chinese nation, they have been in existence for thousands of years, carrying our knowledge of the universe, heaven and earth, and human relations, and also carrying our ideals and feelings. To understand the culture of a nation, we shall start with the analysis of its language. In view of this, the author specially selects some Chinese characters in the field of education, while the most important ones are the 120 characters commonplace in the domain of family education, e.g., “自由” (freedom), “拖拉” (procrastination), “幸福” (happiness) and “未来” (future). There are a total of 240 Chinese characters, none of them is repeated. The author explains education, children’s development and family life from an etymological perspective, such unique approach shows ingenuity of the author.

Yin Fei is Deputy Director of the Research Center for Child Development and Family Education, School of Education Science, Nanjing Normal University; and Director of the Family Education Guidance Center, Nanjing Parent School.