Zhongguang senior school opened a “Chinese classical romance literature” elective course recently. The course has been popular among students since September. It is the first time such lessons have been offered by Jiading high schools.
“Secondary schools should not shy away from the topic of love,” said Lu Guangyuan, principal of the school. “We aim at cultivating a correct outlook on love and making a contribution to spread Chinese cultural classics.”
The teaching methods include group presentations and case analysis, and the course integrates ancient love stories for different subjects such as "cultivation of love," "handsomeness and beauty" and "heroes and belles."
Currently, the class is in its fifth week. The theme of the week is to discuss the Peony Pavilion, a romantic masterpiece of Chinese opera. Many students want to spend more time learning about creativity and love.
"The lesson gives me a strong impression when a teacher emphasizes ‘being matched for marriage,’ which was a kind of restriction in ancient China. I think this custom needs a spiritual equivalent when rebuilding tradition in the modern context,” said Song Yiting, a student at the school.
"I took this course simply for fun at first. However, after several courses, literary works like Romance of the Western Chamber and Ghost Stories really impressed me,” Song added.
Wan Yuben, who is responsible for writing textbooks, said that the purpose for setting the course is to offer students additional language knowledge and guide them to learn more about humanities while learning about Chinese culture.
"It takes nearly four hours of preparation for an 80-minute course. Despite the hardship, the encouragement of students makes me feel it’s worthwhile,” Wan said.
The school also opened courses in “tea art” and “classic reading performance literature” as part of the traditional sinology education curriculum system.
By Zhang Yuchen and edited by Michael Thai