China teaches "real love"

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BEIJING (Reuters) - China's eastern financial hub of Shanghai is adding a dash of romance to the school curriculum to teach children about real love, as opposed to the Internet chatroom variety.


"Stories and poems on love written by well-known authors, Chinese and foreign, ancient and contemporary, have been added to middle school textbooks in a special unit titled 'Love is like a song', an unprecedented endeavour," Xinhua news agency said on Wednesday.


The literature includes work by Russian poet Pushkin, excerpts from Charlotte Bronte's "Jane Eyre" and Chinese love classics written by ancient and contemporary writers.


"With the development of information technology and the media industry, people in China, including students, are exposed to news and information on love at an unprecedented rate," Xinhua said, without mentioning Internet pornography.


"In Chinese society, however, love, both spiritual and physical, remains a traditional taboo and a topic seldom touched on in the Chinese curriculum, though it is a factor widely believed to divert students' attention from study."


The agency quoted Professor Fan Shougang, editor of the new textbook from the Shanghai Education Publishing House, as saying he hoped the new studies would help guide students through puberty smoothly.


Xinhua said trial courses had been held for 15-year-olds at schools across Shanghai.


"Although tutoring proceeded smoothly, the class fell into a long silence when it was asked to comment on 'puberty love' and 'whether Internet love is real'," said Gao.


"Teaching the new unit is quite a challenge for me owing to the difficulty of getting to the point."


The new course had proved a challenge for some parents too, Xinhua said.


"Supporters thanked editors for delivering messages that they wanted to but are too embarrassed to send. Opponents worried the sensitive content might lead their kids to fall in love too early."


Xinhua said last month China is working with its top two search engines to crack down on Internet pornography by restricting the use of keywords.


China began its crackdown on porn sites in mid-July and closed 700 Web sites in the first 10 days of the campaign.