"I am not exaggerating - reading is now the most important issue
in China."
So said Zhu Yongxin, 49, the vice-mayor of Suhou and a professor
at Suzhou University.
Zhu made this claim while discussing his proposal to the 10th
National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative
Conference (CPPCC) to establish a National Reading Festival.
This marks the third year that the veteran member of the
non-communist China Association for Promoting Democracy and CPPCC
standing committee has raised the suggestion. He insists that
promoting reading among Chinese people remains a serious
concern.
Zhu showed a research paper that the Chinese Institute of
Publishing Science (CIPS) conducted at the end of 2005, which
showed that for the first time less than half the people in China
were readers. Among those who said they had "no time" for reading,
54.2 percent were aged between 20-29. And 45.9 percent of the
respondents from the 18-19 age group said they were "not used to
reading".
Zhu is an avid reader who devours about 50 books every year. He
said he believes in the power of books to spread respect for
traditional culture and to build a harmonious and innovative
society. The apparent lack of interest in reading, especially among
young people, worries him a lot.
The professor started his campaign to foster a book-reading
society by promoting reading on campus back in 2000.
"A school without books will never have real education, and
education without reading is simply training," he said. "I would
rather think of schools as a place to cultivate students' desire
and ability to read instead of just an educational institute."
In 2000, Zhu helped compile a series of books under the name
New Century Education Library. The series contains about
400 books developed especially for students and teachers.
He consulted nearly 100 experts in China and abroad to draw up
the book list, which includes both Chinese and English-language
classics.
Since 2002, students at Yufeng Primary School in Suzhou's
Kunshan County have been required to read 100 books during their
six years in primary school.
Zhu initiated a campaign, named "caterpillar to butterfly" last
year under which experts and teachers recommend the most suitable
books for children of different ages. The final list covers a
variety of works, from mythology and fairy tales, to popular
science.
"Children are like caterpillars who become butterflies through
reading," Zhu said. "Books can be woven into a beautiful net, which
helps children preserve their purity, happiness and courage."
Zhu's reading campaign is not just confined to campuses, though.
In 2006, he initiated the first "Suzhou Reading Festival". The
slogan was "reading makes us more pretty".
In his proposal to the CPPCC this year, Zhu suggested that a
National Reading Festival be held on September 28, the birth date
of the sage Confucius, because the ancient intellectual and China's
earliest educationist has many famous views on reading and
learning.
Among them are sayings like, "Have an insatiable desire to
learn?" (xue'er buyan) and "Isn't it a pleasure to learn and review
frequently?" (xue'er shixizhi, buyiyuehu). September is also the
time when most of China's schools start new terms.
The festival would feature various activities involving books,
according to Zhu's proposals. Reading salons and reading and speech
contests will all contribute to developing reading as a popular
habit.
Zhu has also called for teachers and parents to leave books they
like in libraries or other public locations so others can pick them
up.
(China Daily March 7, 2007)