Harvard Girl
The cover of Harvard Girl, showing Liu with her Harvard acceptance letter.
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| Author | Liu Weihua, Zhang Xinwu |
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| Country | People's Republic of China |
| Language | Chinese |
| Genre | Parenting |
| Publisher | Writers Publishing House |
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Publication date
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2000 |
| Pages | 384 |
| ISBN | |
Harvard Girl (full title Harvard Girl Liu Yiting: A Character Training Record; Chinese: 哈佛女孩刘亦婷：素质培养纪实; pinyin: Hāfó Nǚhái Liú Yìtíng: sùzhì péixùn jìshí) is a book written by Liu Weihua (刘卫华) and Zhang Xinwu (张欣武), which describes how they raised their daughter, Liu Yiting (刘亦婷), to be accepted to Harvard University. Published in 2000 in Chinese by the Writers Publishing House, the book details the rigorous lifestyle that Liu led and includes advice from Liu's parents on how to raise children to gain acceptance to top-tier universities; it has been described as a "manual" for child-rearing and early education.
The book was a bestseller in mainland China and made both Harvard and Liu Yiting household names among Chinese parents and students. It has since had numerous imitators, spawning an entire genre of how-to books on child-rearing for Chinese parents.
Liu was raised in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province. Liu's parents, believers in the value of early childhood education, subjected her to a rigorous education since she was just 15 days old. For example, to ensure that someone was always talking to Liu, they invited relatives over to the house. They also had her participate in "character-building" physical exercises such as swimming, jumping rope, and holding ice in her hands for extended periods of time. Liu also acted in a soap opera when she was five years old.
While in high school, Liu participated in a student exchange program and visited America in 1998. This experience changed her views about life in America, because like many Chinese citizens, most of her impressions about America came from Hollywood, and when she came to the country she was "surprised that [she] didn't see any street fights or police-car chases". The program also piqued her interest in American universities, where she realized she would be able to study a variety of subjects.
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