An education meeting held yesterday in Shanghai revealed that Taiwan
pop singer Jay Chow's single "Snail" is recommended as a patriotic song to middle school
students in the eastern municipality.
Among the total 100 recommended songs, "Hero at Heart" by HK veteran
singer Emil Chow and "The Chinese" by HK ever-fresh pop singer/actor Andy
Lau are also on the list.
"Those pop songs recommended on the list are encouraging in lyrics and
of tunes easy to follow," said Wang Yueping, in charge of the selection
work.
"We aim to enlist educational songs that appeal to students as well;
'Snail' by Jay Chow is one such example." Wang said, adding, "It's popular
among students and what's more, the theme of the song is positive."
Jay Chow's "Snail" (a single of his 2001 debut album 'Fantasy')
embodies a man's inner cry in a snail that firmly believes it'll reach its
dream for the sky someday.
"I climb up step by step and wait for the warm sunshine; One day there
is the sky, just for me," reads the lyrics.
HK and Taiwan pop music mushroomed in China, due to their songs
boasting of relaxed themes and easy-to-follow tunes that quickly caught on
among the younger generation soon after the nation's opening up policy in
the late 1970s.
Shanghai, as the business hub of today's China, always leads the nation
in almost every aspect. Including education.
Several weeks ago Shanghai's education authority decided to include
into local middle school textbooks, the stories of Shanghai-based world
top hurdler Liu Xiang, and NBA
center Yao Ming, also a Shanghai native, in a bid to boost students'
national pride and hard-working spirit.
(chinadaily.com.cn) |