Fascinating feature on the front page of the Wall Street Journal today, about the significance of ping-pong star Chen Qi’s being sent to the countryside to learn the value of hard work, after losing a televised match and his temper, too. A parallel is drawn, naturally, with the Cultural Revolution and the “re-education” of intellectuals through manual labor.

I wonder, though, if there aren’t a lot of Western coaches (and parents) who would find the idea appealing. Imagine if tennis brats–or even grown-up sports stars and other celebrities–could be sent to hoe onions or dig fencepost holes! There have been a number of famous Western educators who have seen the value of manual labor and especially of contact with the soil, and the natural world. I think we should give the Chinese credit for not being deterred from a perfectly reasonable tactic by the association with a dark episode in Chinese history.