ShouldTraditionalMasterpiecesBeCut(1).doc

Should Traditional Masterpieces Be Cut?视频播放位置下载安装Flash播放器The Department of Education of east Chinas Shandong Province recently issued a document, requiring middle and primary schools to screen and filter 过滤traditional classics国学 carefully. The document says some content of traditional masterpieces, such as Students Rules弟子规 or The Three-Character Classic三字经, does not conform to todays social value and should be deleted before it is presented to students.This document has triggered heated debates. Supporters of the document say they believe, in providing education on traditional culture, the good should always be retained and the bad discarded抛弃（取其精华去其糟粕）. Opponents say cutting sections from traditional masterpieces damages their integrity. It also deprives students of the chance of developing their ability of making independent judgments.Education experts say the current craze for traditional classics is a somewhat blinkered（ unable to understand or recognize sth; narrow-minded 不能了解或不能认识某事物的; 心胸狭窄的: a blinkered attitude 偏见.） and commercially driven movement, and it should be properly directed and further standardized. Meanwhile, traditional culture should not be extracted arbitrarily from original texts according to individuals personal understanding. The important thing is not to cut out the parts thought to be improper, but to help develop childrens ability to make independent judgments about whats right and whats wrong.In fact, reforms of Chinese textbooks have become the topic of ongoing debate in recent years. The focus of controversies centers on主要聚集在 whats the best way of conducting Chinese courses in todays complicated society with diverse values. Is it better to artificially create a sterilized academic environment or to give students the opportunity of learning how to tell good from bad?Instilling 逐步灌输the essenceGuan Yanping (): The original intention of this document is to remind primary and middle schools of careful arrangement of the courses, so as to prevent them from presenting whatever traditional reading materials they want. Traditional readings传统读物 have both relevant and outdated concepts. For example, in Students Rules and The Three-Character Classic are found concepts of fatalism宿命论，听天由命 and unconditional obedience无条件服从, which are leftovers 剩余物from ancient feudal ethics and superstitions. We must remove outdated concepts before we present traditional masterpieces to young students. If traditional masterpieces are provided without careful screening, it will be, to some extent, harmful to the students.Cui Jinying (): Nowadays, almost every student in primary schools and even in kindergartens has a copy of the Students Rules and The Three-Character Classic. My own daughter, who is 8, is now able to recite many passages from these masterpieces. In retrospect （in retrospect looking back on a past event or situation 回顾; 追溯:,） I even regret my arbitrary专横 decision demanding she learn these masterpieces, because they contain outdated values such as unconditional obedience to seniors and parents, which contradict mainstream modern values. By no means should we expose students to traditional culture without any screening of content. Parents and teachers must help to guide the students and carefully select the content to be taught.Liu Chuane (The Beijing News): As a legacy of ancient feudal China, the values upheld in the Students Rules and The Three-Character Classic are different from and even opposite to modern values. These old values may impair the building of peoples modern values and sense of citizenship. Students are supposed to read traditional Chinese and also foreign masterpieces in a dialectical辩证的 way. They must also first analyze the content before deciding about what to take from the books. They must know whats bad and whats good based on understanding. Only in this way, can they properly and wisely make use of traditional masterpieces, instead of being slaves to these books.Should Traditional Masterpieces Be Cut?视频播放位置下载安装Flash播放器Li Qingping (): Nowadays, there is a kind of strong passion for traditional classics among children. By pushing forward classical education传统教育, schools want to make money sometimes. Parents want their children to learn more Chinese characters and to learn to behave themselves, edified开导或启发by traditional culture. As for the values conveyed by these masterpieces, neither schools nor parents seem to be interested. This is not good for the students, so something must be done to help them come to a better understanding of these classics. Its necessary for the government to standardize these programs.Affecting developmentTu Keguo (): Cultural masterpieces like the Students Rules and The Three-Character Classic have been important and enlightening reading material for children for centuries. These books impart （ sth (to sth) give (a quality) to sth 将（某性质）给予或赋予某事物）moral codes as well as historical and cultural education. At first, todays students may feel confused about the content, but gradually, they will begin to benefit from cultural edification from thousands of years of historical accumulation.Meanwhile, we have to admit these books do include outdated concepts like unconditional obedience, mens superiority to women, and so on, which contradict core social values today. As far as these traditional masterpieces are concerned, we must inherit their teaching critically. Nevertheless, I still hold that students should be able to recite the complete passages. Its incorrect to tear a complete passage into parts and only extract what individuals think are right. To help the students get the correct understanding of these masterpieces, teachers explanation and guides are needed. This process will actually help to improve students ability of judgment.Zeng Zhenyu (): Before we do the screening and filtering work, we should first make clear what are outdated concepts and then delete them, but it seems no one can resolve this question. When reading traditional Chinese masterpieces, we should try to understand them against the background of their times, and what we need to do is to extract the good from them that is helpful to us. Trust our teachers and our children. They know how to read and make use of traditional masterpieces.Xiao Xingguo (The Beijing News): If teachers only use portions of a complete masterpiece, students will be unable to absorb its essence and at the same time lose the opportunity to realize which concepts are outdated or harmful. Artificial screening of traditional masterpieces will mislead students.Zhou Jie (): People argue its time to standardize the current passion for traditional masterpieces, to help children build correct values. But, to focus on traditional masterpieces is not enough. To create a healthy cultural environment, we need joint efforts from schools, parents and society. What affects students values are not books, but external direction. Ive been a teacher of Chinese for 20 years. Not a single one of my students has ever tried to commit suicide for love because of texts such as Romeo and Juliet. What affects our students are the methods of education, rather than textbooks.Qian Wenzhong (Zhengzhou Evening News): Im opposed to this kind of excerpting. What we need is critical explanation. If this is problematic, then it means a good chance for readers to analyze and criticize. In such a process, students will discover the complexity of traditional culture.Xie Xizhang (): Recently, Shandong Provincial Department of Education issued a document, requiring schools to extract the essence and discard the outmoded when carrying out traditional Chinese classics teaching. Meanwhile, schools in central Chinas Hubei Province are directly required to recite traditional masterpieces only after outmoded parts are deleted.These moves imply education departments 教育部hope to offer the purest cultural content to students. This is a good ideal. We hope we live in a vacuum without any dirt, but its totally impossible. T