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Although the new version is not on the market yet, it has already generated widespread interest and public discussion over what contents are to be included. The principles behind the compilation of the material and the goals of the new textbook have raised a number of questions.
First, one of the editors of the new textbook has insisted that the so-called "red classics" must be included in Chinese textbooks. Even the "model plays" (performances created in the revolutionary period with communist or revolutionary themes) are included for the first time in history.
In my opinion, there should be two criteria for selecting teaching materials from Chinese literature. First is the aesthetic value of the work. Second, the ideas and emotions expressed in the work should embody universal human themes and values, such as freedom, equality, humanity and philanthropy, credibility, forgiveness, gratitude and so on.
There are two fundamental goals or missions in the teaching of Chinese. One is to elevate the students' knowledge of the language and raise their ability to express themselves in Chinese, which can best be achieved through well-written works. Second is to cultivate good moral qualities and good citizenship, which can only be fulfilled through the teaching of universal values.
The "red classics" were a unique social and cultural product of a specific historical period, featuring the characteristics of that period. Generally speaking, they lack high aesthetic value, and only promote special values. The theory of class struggle is an outstanding example of this "special" value system.
As for the "red classics" selected by the compiling committee, they might have been considered good literature 17 years after the liberation, but if we evaluate them in relation to the long history of Chinese and foreign literature, the limitations of those works are obvious. They are formulaic, poorly conceived and superficial. It is laughable to consider them great literature.
These works were written during the period when class struggle was advocated. They attempted to express the emotions and values of conflicting social classes, and are very ideological and political. They divided people into different classes, giving positive moral qualities to certain classes and negative ones to others. This kind of values may have had their place at a certain time, but they also caused serious confusion and should not be encouraged now.
I see no good reason for selecting these works for a modern high school literature course. We cannot say they represent an important period in Chinese history and must therefore be included in the Chinese textbooks. Otherwise, Chinese textbooks will become history books. Ironically, the real history textbooks do not explain the great turmoil of Chinese society 20 years after liberation; they barely mention it.
Also, I don't think it is right to omit excellent works due to the personal background of the author. Another editor of the new textbook said that a well-written work by Liang Shih-chiu, a well known writer, scholar, critic and translator in Taiwan, had been selected but later was excluded because "the higher authorities had some considerations."
It appears that Chinese literary education cannot yet focus on aesthetics and de-emphasize politics, as the considerations of the higher authorities are still given more weight than the intrinsic value of the material to be studied.
Liang Shih-chiu's works are not political, do not highlight the themes of the times, and have been criticized by some "revolutionary writers." These are not good reasons to exclude them. It is not necessary to have every single article in a textbook filled with smoke, gunpowder, daggers and guns. There is nothing wrong with expressing the light and poetical feelings of daily life. Isn't it true that we want diversity and harmony? The premise of harmony is difference. Excluding all themes that don't involve fighting will lead to monotony, not harmony.
Many well-known writers had moral defects, but this is not a reason to ignore their work. Every Chinese knows that Zhou Zuoren was judged to be a traitor during World War II, but he was an excellent writer and translator. Marie-Henri Beyle, the 19th century French writer, had syphilis; the American writer J. D. Salinger dallied with a young girl; Gu Cheng, the Chinese poet, was a murderer.
We can study the lives of authors, but we need to distinguish between their lives and their works. In literature classes in Chinese colleges the works of Beyle, Salinger and Gu Cheng are still taught. It cannot be denied that Zhou Zuoren wrote beautiful works, and some of them contain positive and healthy ideas. Certainly teachers can explain this to students without worrying that the students may become traitors by studying Zhou's works.
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(Tao Dongfeng is a professor in the Chinese Department of Capital Normal University in Beijing. He is also editor-in-chief of the scholarly periodical "Culture Research." This article is translated and edited from the Chinese by UPI Asia Online. ©Copyright Tao Dongfeng.)
