Xinhua Insight: Revised textbook turns to Chinese traditional culture

China's primary and secondary school Chinese language textbooks have been revised to focus more on traditional culture, according to an editor.

Starting this autumn, more than four million first and seventh graders from Hunan, Henan, Guangdong, Liaoning and other provincial-level regions will use the new books.

According to Wang Xuming, president of the Language and Culture Press under the Ministry of Education, 40 percent of the content in the previous edition has been changed.

Traditional material makes up 30 percent of the revised primary school textbooks, while it increases to about 40 percent for secondary school textbooks.

"We did so to address the needs of parents, who want their children to learn more about traditional culture," said a senior editor surnamed Zhu in charge of the middle school textbooks.

"Now many people cannot even understand the language in classical Chinese books, and parents compete to send their children to commercial training centers for traditional culture," she said.

China has seen a renewed interest in traditional education. A report by the Southern Metropolitan Daily said that China has more than 3,000 Sishu, or traditional private schools, in addition to training centers teaching students classical essays.

"Demand for private education grows when teaching of traditional culture in public schools is not enough," Zhu said.

She told Xinhua that the poetry and essays in the new books were selected not only so students can learn the language, but also to instruct them on philosophy.

For example, 16 excerpts from the Analects of Confucius were included in the middle school textbooks.

"The six excerpts for seventh graders are about study, because grade seven is the first year of middle school," Zhu said. "The ten excerpts for ninth graders are about cultivating morality, as students at that age are on the threshold of entering society."

Zheng Weizhong, director of the primary school department at the press, told Xinhua that students now begin learning classical articles starting in third grade.

"We also added stories about Chinese folk art and ethnic culture, such as paper-cutting and the Tibetan Shoton (yogurt banquet) Festival," he said.

The change was welcomed by many teachers. Liu Jinping, who has been teaching in Luoyang in central China's Henan province for 39 years, agreed.

"Students at that age may not be able to understand some classic poetry and essays well, but they are like seeds that will grow one day. The children will benefit sooner or later," she said.

"Chinese traditional culture is beginning its rejuvenation, which will take time," said Chin-tang Lo, a 90-year-old scholar of ancient Chinese civilization.

He noted that the textbook revision is well timed for this rejuvenation. "The symbol of a nation's prosperity is not the economy, but civilization," he said.

But some people have questioned the revision. Mr. Li, father of a student at No. 1 Primary School in Shenyang's Hunnan New District, is among them.

"The students are too young to understand so many pieces with classical Chinese language. I am afraid they will lose interest," said Li.

Zheng Weizhong told Xinhua that adding classical and traditional material was not the only change. "We have updated content to make the books more relevant to children," he said.

EDUCATION FOR A NEW WORLD

Primary and middle schools in China had uniform textbooks before an education reform in 2001, which allowed schools in different provinces to use different textbooks. More than ten publishers have released their own textbooks, including the Language and Culture Press.

This is the first revision the press has made in more than a decade.

"We did so because the previous version had been used for too long," said Zhu, the senior editor.

They have replaced some outdated articles, such as one about intercontinental missiles that was originally adopted to teach students expository writing.

"The missile described in the story was produced by the Soviet Union in the 1950s, which is far removed from students today," she said. "So we have replaced it with another about Internet emojis."

Editors substituted an article about the Nanjing Massacre with a better-known version by Chinese-American writer Iris Chang.

Chinese writer Mo Yan's speech after winning the Nobel Prize was also selected for the book.

"Each year, we poll local schools about articles that teachers and students like or dislike," Zheng said. Some articles with obviously propagandistic language were removed after complaints were received.

Huang Huifen with the education bureau of Shaoguan in south China's Guangdong Province has worked as a primary school teacher for more than 20 years. "The new textbook pays more attention to the language, which is easier for students to accept," she said.

Liu Jinping, the teacher in Luoyang, said studying Mo Yan's speech could encourage students to read more of his work.

"A textbook is a window through which children look at the outside world," she said. "They should not only see tradition, but also be introduced to interesting new faces." Endi