Well Kickin, I can not speak about the Chinese culture since, well, I am caucasian but I do know a bit about being "left out" in a family. If you drop me a PM I could discuss this a bit more but some questions I would be asking may be too personal for an internet forum board.
To give you some insight, I was the middle child of 3 kids. I had an older sister (the good child) and a younger brother (the rascal). No matter what I did to try and please my parents, I couldn't and was told so. It has even carried over to my family and my son. My Mother told me and my wife that our son (her grandson) would never be a "favorite" grandson because we lived to far away. My mother then went on to say that my sister's kids will always be "more special" since they were the first of the grandchildren.
Parents can be as rude as any other person you meet in life. The difference lies in that they are family and it hurts more coming from family. If you think I may be of some help just let me know.