COLUMNIST: TAO DONGFENG
Cultural Perspective
Tao Dongfeng received his Ph. D. in literature from Beijing Normal University. He
is a professor in the Chinese Department of Capital Normal University in Beijing, a researcher at the Literature and Art Research Center of National Normal University, and vice president of the China Literature and Art Theories Association. He is also editor-in-chief of the scholarly periodical "Culture Research." He has won many honors and awards for excellence in teaching as well as for his critiques and theories on art. He has published 10 books and more than 100 articles, including critiques of literature and studies on cultural topics.
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April 18, 2008BEIJING, China — Some influential people in China wish to take advantage of the government's cultural development policy to pursue their own pet projects. A typical example is the proposal to turn Jining, home of Confucius and Mencius, into a "Symbol of Chinese Culture City." This would be a cultural disaster.
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December 28, 2007Beijing, China — Faced with public opposition over the construction of a chemical plant, officials in China's southern coastal city of Xiamen held public meetings to discuss the plant's environmental impact and safety concerns, giving citizens a rare voice. This should be common practice.
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November 23, 2007Beijing, China — For the first time, the Chinese Communist Party has highlighted the need for the people to receive education in citizenship.In a report at the Party Congress last month, the Party vowed "to strengthen citizenship education and establish the ideas of soc
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October 19, 2007Beijing, China — In the Chinese media a heated discussion is under way concerning the need to reduce the burden of study of primary and middle school students. The discussion is based on the premise that the essential problem of today's students is that they have too much
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August 24, 2007Beijing, China — In recent years, many provinces in China have introduced educational reforms, disrupting the rigid system whereby the whole country used the same textbooks. Beijing educational authorities also recently announced some new reforms.
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July 13, 2007Beijing, China — There have been a number of moves in China to force Internet users to reveal their real names online, rather than using a pseudonym. The latest is a move by local authorities in Xiamen city, who have proposed a regulation that would ban anonymous postings
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June 29, 2007Beijing, China — The Beijing government has been criticizing advertisers for using misleading words like "luxury," "supreme," and "mansions" to sell goods and properties, saying such ads are not conducive to building a harmonious society. The Beijing Administration for In
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June 27, 2007Beijing, China — The disclosure this month that hundreds of children and teenagers have been forced to labor as slaves in the brick kilns of Shanxi province in northern China shocked Chinese society. This is just one more scandal that has tarnished China's reputation inte
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June 09, 2007Beijing, China — Many Chinese young people are facing a life-and-death ordeal this week, as they confront the university entrance examination that will determine their futures. Over the years, uncountable numbers of students have gone through this exam with a wide range o
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May 18, 2007Beijing, China — A hot topic online in China this week was the news that Xiamen University had ignored normal qualification requirements and hired renowned scholar Xie Yong as a professor at its School of Literature. Public opinion strongly supported the move, and I am no
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May 11, 2007Beijing, China — The study of history has become very popular in China in recent years. Films, television series and literary works, including fictional firsthand accounts, are based on historic themes.
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May 04, 2007Beijing, China — Professor Yu Dan has become famous overnight thanks to her "philosophy of happiness," which she claims to have learned from the Analects of Confucius. Some of her supporters have even called her a "modern female Confucius."
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April 23, 2007Beijing, China — Actors, singers, dancers and other entertainment professionals will soon be required to hold certificates issued by the Ministry of Culture in order to be employed in China, according to a report posted last week on the official news site, Chinanews.com.c
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April 16, 2007Beijing, China — The graphic depiction of violence in modern Chinese movies goes beyond the boundaries of morality and runs counter to the basic standards of civilized society. Attempting to portray violence in an aesthetic way, to make people enjoy bloody and violent beh
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April 08, 2007Beijing, China — The Chinese traditional festival of Qing Ming, or grave-sweeping day, was celebrated last week. Many people visited the graves of their ancestors in the past few days to sweep the area and to recall those who have died.