Minister of Education Wu Ching-chi (吳清基) has proposed changing the maximum proportion of classical Chinese in high school Chinese textbooks from 45 percent to 65 percent. The change will apply from the next academic year. The classical Chinese that Chinese intellectuals Hu Shih (胡適) and Chen Duxiu (陳獨秀) fought against 90 years ago is making a comeback in our high school curriculums.
We believe Wu himself and the professors on the Joint Board of the College Recruitment Commission would not pass the classical Chinese tests they are proposing. Although President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) has a doctorate and admires Chinese culture, we even wonder how he would fare on the tests Wu and his associates want to implement.
More classical Chinese texts and tests in high schools is harsh on students and will undermine their interest in literature.
Tzeng Ching-wen (鄭清文) is the only Taiwanese writer to have won an international award in literature — the Kiriyama Pacific Rim Book Prize — since the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) regime fled to Taiwan 60 years ago. The plain language, humanity and moral integrity of the people in his works have drawn admiration from literary circles at home and abroad. Yet the excerpts from his works (which include Taiwanese) in high school textbooks seldom come with footnotes or translations, so teachers say they can’t teach them.
A key problem is that since the Qing Dynasty, professors of Chinese literature have played a dominant role in controlling high school literature education. In Taiwan, the focus on classical Chinese has stifled the development of Taiwanese literature.
Long dominated by narrow-minded scholars of Chinese literature, elementary and high school literature education has failed to reflect the native culture of Taiwan and has lagged behind changes and trends in world literature.
As a result, Taiwanese students have not come into contact with the inspiring works of poet Lai He (賴和) and novelist Lu Ho-jo (呂赫若). They have also missed out on classics of world literature such as Shakespeare’s plays and Greek and Roman mythology.
The lack of art and culture programs on TV in Taiwan is also a result of the domination of classical Chinese literature in school curriculums.
Increasing the proportion of classical Chinese content in high school textbooks is an indication that Chinese colonial education is being implemented.
Soon, former minister of education Tu Cheng-sheng’s (杜正勝) proposal that Taiwanese and Chinese history receive equal attention in the high school curriculum may also be scrapped.
In the years since its founding, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has failed to place enough importance on educational reform. If the DPP continues to sit by and let Taiwanese students be kept from learning about their native culture, we will be forced to act.
Cheng Cheng-yu is president of the Taiwan Southern Society; Chen Gau-tzu is president of the Taiwan Northern Society; Winston Yu is president of the Eastern Taiwan Society; Chen Wan-der is president of the Taiwan Central Society; Chang Yeh-shen is president of the Taiwan Hakka Society; Ellen Huang is president of the Taiwan Green Shield Party; and Tsay Ting-kuei is chairman of the Alliance of Referendum for Taiwan.
TRANSLATED BY TED YANG
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