Pilot textbooks on traditional Chinese culture to be used in 2015

Pilot textbooks on traditional Chinese culture to be used in 2015.

The research and development of pilot textbooks on traditional Chinese culture for elementary school and middle school students has been finished, and the first batch of books will be distributed throughout the country this September.

The course books, which are the product of extensive discussion among experts, are intended to instruct teenagers about building optimal character. Traditional moral education tracts including "Three-Character Scripture" and "Qian Zi Wen" will be used in primary schools. Mid-grade classes will mainly study the moral teachings and tonal patterns of Chinese classical poetry in order to gain a good foundation in the academic appreciation of classical poetry, while high-grade students will begin to study "The Analects," "Mencius" and "The Doctrine of the Mean." Middle school students will study "The Art of War" and textbooks on literary Chinese to help them understand the thoughts of the ancient philosophers. High schools will focus on general education in traditional culture.

Many experts have pointed out that traditional cultural education usually emphasizes reading Confucian classics, neglecting national arts and folk culture. They cited a three-grade textbook to be used in Beijing that employs simple words and beautiful pictures to explain the historical and cultural significance of Beijing hutongs to students as an example of a more integrated form of cultural education.

The new course books are revised versions of the pilot course materials on traditional culture taught in hundreds of primary and secondary schools nationwide, including 55 schools in the Tongzhou district of Beijing.

Zhang Jian, the leader of the working group tasked with creating the new curriculum, revealed that this edition of the textbooks is scheduled to come into use in the second half of 2015. Supplementary activities and information about traditional culture education will also be made available on mobile platforms simultaneously.