Chinese school book’s omission of farmers’ revolt provokes debate
- Story that had featured in textbooks for some 60 years is edited out and replaced with new section deemed ‘suitable’ for pupils
A classical text about a famous farmers’ uprising during the Qin dynasty over 2,200 years ago has been removed from Chinese secondary school textbooks, prompting online speculation about the reason and a response from the publishing house.
The removed passage, titled Chenshe Shijia, is a biography of Chen Sheng and Wu Guang, famous figures in the first documented uprising of Chinese farmers, in 209BC.
It explains in depth the reasons for the revolt, including the tyrannical rule of the Qin empire (221-207BC) and the organisation of the rebels, as well as analysis of its failures, including Chen’s own harsh leadership and a gradual loss of loyalty of his subordinates.
The publisher, People’s Education Press, said via its website on Monday night that the passage had been deleted from books used to teach Chinese language to avoid repetition, because the study of the historical event itself was already mandatory in secondary school history textbooks.
Instead, the Chinese language textbooks will include another story, Zhou Yafu Camps at Xiliu, about a military general who receives an inspection from an emperor.