Even the positive reactions make it clear that the words are expressed rarely: "I am so happy you called to say that, it is the happiest thing that happened to me in 2017," one parent answered.

即使是正面的回应，父母清楚地表明这句话用的很少：“我很高兴你打电话说这句话，这是我2017年最开心的一件事了。” 有个家长这样回答。

Why don't Chinese families use those words? Theories revolve around the nature of Confucian teaching. "The parents' responses show that many Chinese are not good at expressing positive emotions," Xia Xueluan, a Sociologist from Peking University, told the Global Times. "They are used to educating children with negative language."

为什么中国家庭不说这句话呢？普遍的观点认为是受到儒家思想的影响。“父母们的反应表明大部分的中国人不擅长表达积极的情感，” 北京大学社会学家夏学銮对《环球时报》的记者说。“他们习惯用负面的语言来教育孩子。”

This isn't the first time that China has done some soul-searching about familial love — last year China Daily asked a cross-section of people if they said 'I love you' to their parents, spouses, and children. "I have never said 'I love you' to my family, and I don't think I will in the future," one 56-year-old told the paper. "Saying it aloud is embarrassing for me."

这不是中国第一次做关于亲情方面的自省——去年《中国日报》就各个阶层的人进行了采访，询问他们是否对父母、爱人和孩子说过“我爱你”。“我从来没对我的家人说过‘我爱你’，我觉得我以后也不会说，”一名56岁的被采访者回答《中国日报》的记者。“把这句话说出口，我会觉得很难为情的。”

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