Society

Confucius hometown must use abridged classics

By Quan Li (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2010-12-30 13:20

Chinese classic texts such as Three Character Primer, a teaching tool for children in ancient times, won't be introduced to primary and secondary schools in their entirety, the Shandong Business Daily reported on Thursday.

Related readings:  Confucius Institute inaugurated in Ecuador  Shandong: the home of Confucius A mover and shaker in the world of foreign trade  Jesus to join Confucius as Qufu plans church  40 million foreigners learning Chinese

Schools under the nine-year compulsory education phase in East China's Shandong province, the home of Confucius, got the notice from the education department on Wednesday. They were told to use selected classic texts in a provincial special course on traditional culture, said the report.

The notice said the abridgement was aimed at "selecting the essence and discarding the dross."

The provincial course introduces Chinese traditional culture to instill national spirit among elementary and middle school students with classic literary works.

Three Character Primer, composed in the late southern Song Dynasty, contains over 1,000 characters, with three characters in each line of verse. The primer covers elements of Chinese history and the basis of Confucian morality.