You have 3 children?! - said everyone ever (in China)
At first I didn’t pay any attention. It was scarcely more than the rustle of leaves disturbed by the wind as we passed, a murmur of voices that rose briefly behind us and died away. Then I realized what they were saying. ‘Three…there are three of them… three children….’
When I moved to Beijing six years ago with one five year old, one toddler, and one babe-in-arms, I soon became aware that the very existence of my son and two daughters touched a raw nerve of longing among many Chinese with whom we came into contact.
Wherever I go with my son and daughters, the question is always the same: ‘Are they all yours?’ When I say yes, the response is always the same: a disbelieving laugh, and the words, ‘You’re lucky.’
Sometimes people ask where we are from and then, after a moment’s thought, they ask, ‘Don’t they restrict births in your country?’ as though that’s what governments naturally do.
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