The drawings in a series of Chinese primary school math textbooks have been deemed controversial for various reasons, including for inappropriate depictions of children
Representational image of primary school students in China. AFP
China has ordered a state-owned educational publisher to recall a set of elementary school math textbooks after illustrations in it were deemed ugly, pornographic and secretly pro-American.
According to The Star, People’s Education Press issued a public statement on 26 May promising to redesign the illustrations after its textbooks became the most-discussed topic on China’s Twitter-like social media platform Weibo.
The illustrations deemed inappropriate have been described as “tragically ugly”. The textbook controversy remained one of the top trending items on Weibo till Monday as related hashtags had been viewed more than four billion times and millions of comments were left beneath posts.
What is the textbook controversy in China?
According to a report by CNN, the drawings, found in a series of math textbooks that have been used by Chinese primary schools for nearly a decade, have been deemed controversial for various reasons.
While some Chinese internet users termed the pictures of children with small, drooping and wide-set eyes and big foreheads as ugly, offensive and racist, others were outraged by inappropriate depictions of children.
Some of the pictures in the textbooks show little boys with bulging pants that look like the outline of male genitalia. Users pointed out the inappropriate connotation of one illustration in which a boy has his hands on a girl’s chest while another pulls a girl’s skirt; in another drawing, a girl’s underwear is exposed as she jumps rope.
According to the report, the illustrations were also seen as being “pro-United States” as several children are seen wearing clothes with stars and stripes pattern in the colours of the American flag.
The outrage over the illustrations
Since the illustrations appeared on Chinese social media last week, people have been outraged as several hashtags racked up tens of millions of views on Weibo.
Apart from raging over the inappropriateness of the illustrations, internet users were also shocked that such “substandard” illustrations made it into textbooks despite the country’s stringent censorship laws and strict publication review process.
The entire controversy was soon termed as “Western cultural infiltration”, as nationalist influencers alleged that the illustrators had been working for “foreign forces” to corrupt the souls of the innocent Chinese children.
Even though the People’s Education Press announced to recall the textbooks from circulation, public anger remained unabated, forcing China’s education ministry to step in, ordering the publisher to “rectify and reform” its publications and make sure the new version would be available for the fall semester.
It also ordered a “thorough inspection” of textbooks nationwide to make sure teaching materials “adhere to correct political directions and values, promote outstanding Chinese culture and conform to the aesthetic tastes of the public”, CNN reported.
With inputs from agencies
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