Tā cóngxiǎo bèi fùmǔ wàngnǚchéngfèng, yālì hěn dà.
From childhood her parents wanted her to become a phoenix; the pressure on her was huge.
Tips
culture
Almost always paired with 望子成龙 (wàngzǐchénglóng, to hope one's son becomes a dragon). Together they capture the intensity of Chinese parental ambition — and increasingly, the burden it places on children.
memory
Dragon (龙) and phoenix (凤) are the supreme male and female mythological beasts; matching them to 子 (son) and 女 (daughter) makes the pairing memorable.
