"Chinese Children in the 20th Century,"
published by New Century Publishing House, 582 pages, 380 yuan (US$46).
Fewer and fewer Chinese children nowadays ever play games like "crickets
fighting" which were popular at the end of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).
Instead, they spend many a Sunday sitting at computers, playing games
or surfing the Internet - a technological wonder that is going to
shape their lives in the century ahead.
"Chinese Children in the 20th Century" is a book compiled
by the China Youth & Children Research Center and published by
the New Century Publishing House. It records the transformation of
the lives of Chinese children over the years.
It covers 17 aspects, including population, everyday life, health
care, education, literature, arts, media, games and toys. Each subject
contains an abundance of historical information.
It also compares the influences of different historical periods and
social systems on children's development, summarizing the setbacks
and achievements.
"The changes and transformation of Chinese children's lives have
reflected the ups and downs of the country over the past 100 years,"
said Ding Zhihong, vice-president of the New Century Publishing House,
at the book's launch, which was held in Beijing.
The book is expected to stimulate more research into the history of
children in China, Ding stressed.
Traditionally, the personalities of Chinese children have been ignored.
In feudal societies they were bound by the social estate system and
had no social status or rights to speak.
As Lu Xun (1881-1936), known as the father of Chinese modern literature,
once wrote: "Even when a child means to say something, he is
deemed to be wrong before he says it."
For several thousand years, children were treated, as belongings,
private property and future laborers for adults, and adults were violent
towards them.
Some Chinese like Lu Xun called for reform in the treatment of children.
"If children are not treated as human beings in childhood, they
cannot be good and healthy when grown up," he said.
As the country ushered in the 20th century, Chinese children started
to confront tangible changes in their lives.
New-style schools started up after the Opium War (1840-42) and a new
education system had developed by the end of the Qing Dynasty.
Hundreds of thousands of children stepped out of small, old-style
private schools and entered big, new-style classrooms.
With the arrival of modern children's literature, Chinese children
began to read stories, poems, essays and fairy tales specially written
for them.
The translation of foreign fairy tales played a significant role in
children's literature at the beginning of the 20th century.
In 1903, Zhou Guisheng, a Shanghai translator devoted to translating
children's works, published a translation collection which included
the famous "Arabian Nights." For the first time, fairy tales
from foreign countries were introduced to Chinese children.
The collection "Fairy Tales," published by the Commercial
Press in 1909, was one of the most popular publications of the New
Culture Movement.
The 102 volumes featured not only fairy tales written by Danish Hans
Christian Anderson but also stories adapted from Chinese folklore,
legend and historical novels.
The practice provided valuable experience for later children's publications,
and the tradition of combining Western literature with Chinese traditional
culture has carried on ever since.
Chinese children were also given opportunities to enjoy songs, dances,
art and dramas.
In the 1920s, children's organizations developed on an unprecedented
scale. The social status of children steadily increased, along with
the gradual introduction of child hygiene and health care, publishing
children's books, magazines and newspapers and a modern national toy
industry.
The history of Chinese toys can be traced back to the Eastern Han
(AD 25-220) Dynasty, when clay dolls became popular in the country
and traditional toys like kites, puppets, dolls, masks and chess were
developed. Yet the modern toy industry did not really get going until
1911, when the first toy factory was set up in Shanghai.
The variety of toys increased quickly and techniques of production
improved dramatically. The industry of celluloid toys, metal toys
and wooden toys was taking shape.
With the progress of social civilization, people came to regard children
as independent individuals rather than belongings.
But it was only when the People's Republic of China was founded in
1949 that people recognized that "children are the future masters
of the country."
In New China, children's social status has been given much more importance.
In 1991, the Chinese Government joined in the United Nation's Convention
on the Rights of Children. Chinese children now live in better conditions
and enjoy their own rights.
The Law for Protecting the Children of the People's Republic of China,
the first law of its kind in the country, was put into effect in 1992.
Since then, more legislation has been made to protect children's rights
in health care, education and hygiene.
Education has particularly drawn more attention throughout the country.
The Project Hope has brought hopes for thousands of school leavers
since it was launched by China's Youth & Children Development
Fund in 1989. It became one of "the largest and most influential
charities" in China in the 1990s.
The book took dozens of experts from the China Youth & Children
Research Center three years to complete, costing about 1 million yuan
(US$120,000).
Professor Lao Kaisheng, with Beijing Normal University, one of the
experts who took part in the launch, said the book had provided beneficial
inspiration and reference for both the organizations and people working
for children.
"It's a lively and valuable textbook of history for people of
today and tomorrow," said Lao
(China Daily 01/18/01) |
