Martial arts classic recommended for Beijing pupils

The Legend of Condor Heroes, a wuxia masterpiece by Hongkong novelist Louis Cha, better known as Jin Yong, was incorporated as "recommended reading" for primary school students in Chaoyang district, Beijing, Beijing Times reported Wednesday.

Wang Lin, an expert who helps compile the reading list, said boys always develop an interest in reading through action plots and girls through love stories, and that is why The Legend of Condor Heroes was included.

According to Wang, among popular literature, books that children can read smoothly should be selected, instead of those with specific values. Parents should feel at ease about their children reading popular fiction.

Many foreign literary works are among the 900 selected titles, including JK Rowling's Harry Potter series, Norwegian author Jostein Gaarder's best-seller Sophie's World and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare.

Each primary school library in Chaoyang district is to store copies of the 900 books on the list, as required by the district's education commission.