"[B]rowsing at Chinese bookstores reveals that the children's book sections mostly contains books translated from the Western popular folk tales, such as Little Red Riding Hood, Peter Pan, and Snow White."
That's from "The Cultural Significance of Reading Instruction in China." Written by Yang Hu, the article is in The Reading Teacher, Volume 57, No. 7 (April 2004). I found it as I started looking for information about the Chinese National Curriculum.
I was looking for info on the Chinese National Curriculum because a former student was home in China this summer and brought me a copy of Little House on the Prairie. I'll scan the cover and some pages from the book later today. Printed across the top front of the cover is a note that says the book is part of the Chinese National Curriculum. I'd like to know more about that curriculum, and how Little House on the Prairie ended up on it.
Interesting to see "Peter Pan" mentioned as a "Western popular folk tale", along with Little Red Riding Hood etc. Wonder if that is a slip on the part of the author of the article you cite, or on the part of the framers of the Chinese national standards?
ReplyDeleteIn that portion of the article, the author was sharing what he observed in bookstores. He hoped to find Chinese and Chinese-authored stories, but instead, found what he called "Western popular folk" stories.
ReplyDeleteI wonder, now, how much the Chinese National curriculum includes Chinese stories in comparison to things like Peter Pan and Snow White...