The Return of Chinese Classics.

In recent years a series of textbook materials selected from classical Chinese poetry for primary and middle school children have been published in China. Prepared by officially appointed experts and included in the formal language curriculum of the 9-year compulsory education, they have run scores of prints and tens of millions of copies have been sold. This paper attempts to find out and study the objectives of these renewed efforts at poetry reading and appreciation, the contents and the ways in which these classical poems are taught and exploited and the implications that this curriculum development may have for humanities education and general knowledge education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]