Chinese school that taught women 'a career is too costly' ordered to shut down
Dongguan private school that solely taught ancient Chinese scriptures and philosophies was said to be instilling the wrong values in women and children
A private school in Guangdong province’s Dongguan said to be shunning maths and English in favour of solely teaching ancient Chinese scriptures and philosophies has been ordered to shut down by education authorities for “instilling the wrong values in children and women”, the Southern Metropolis Daily reported.
The Mengzheng National Studies Institute was set up by a local businessman, Huang Cheng, in 2010 at a Dongguan industrial park, catering to children and adults interested in learning about traditional Chinese manners, customs and scriptures.
Its opening followed a wave of enthusiasm on the mainland for all things ancient in recent years, a phenomenon that has been dubbed “national studies fever”. It has led to a revival of private schools where students bow to statues of Confucius and memorise ancient texts about benevolence and obedience under the guidance of teachers who dress in Han dynasty-style robes.
The school did not teach the children maths or English and only focused on ancient classics including the Three Character Classic, Thousand Character Classic, Student Rules Scripture and Lessons for Women.
It also offered courses tailored towards adults dissatisfied with their lives who wanted to learn how to live happily in the modern world by “looking inwards and backwards” to the golden age of Chinese philosophers. Such courses usually cost up to 10,000 yuan (HK$12,600) per year.
But a team jointly set up by the local education and public security departments and Women’s Federation was sent to investigate the school after receiving complaints about the values it was promoting, especially for women, according to the report.