China revises textbooks to boost traditional culture

BEIJING, May 24 (Xinhua) -- China has revised its primary and secondary school Chinese textbooks to include more about ancient poetry and other traditional culture.

"Our Chinese textbooks lack content on traditional culture. This revision will go someway to making up the shortfall," said Wang Xuming, president of the Language and Culture Press under the Ministry of Education.

From September 2013, 18 Chinese textbooks used by students from Hunan, Henan, Guangdong, Liaoning and other provincial-level regions, were revised in accordance with the government guidelines on curriculum.

The revised primary-school textbooks now have 30 percent of their content related to traditional culture while for secondary school students it increased to about 40 percent, Wang said.

The updated textbooks will first be used by more than 4 million students in the first and seventh grades across the country starting this fall, Wang added.

The new textbooks will help inspire young people and give them a sense of national identity, said Sun Shaozhen, professor with College of Chinese Language and Literature of Fujian Normal University.