No sign of Han chauvinism
Hong Kong's modern history textbooks merely present the facts. On the war with Japan, Hong Kong books say that both the KMT and the CPC made "contributions," but that "the nationalist army was the main military force resisting the Japanese." But during the second phase of the war the communist Eighth Route Army and New Fourth Army were able to pin down some Japanese forces, and during the war the communist forces were able to increase their strength.
In mainland textbooks on modern history, we see none of the abundant material on Taiwan's past that appears in Taiwan's textbooks, such as Taiwan's development, construction in Taiwan, the foundation in Taipei of a branch of Sun Yat-sen's Hsing Chung Hui (a forerunner of the Kuomintang), and so on. "The mainland treats the Republic of China as having ceased to exist in 1949," says Professor Wang Shou-nan. On the other hand, Hong Kong's history books mainly stress Taiwan's economic achievements in the period since the KMT government withdrew there. Their mainland history finishes with Deng Xiaoping's visit to the US in 1978. It is worth noting that all mention of the Tian'anmen Square Massacre, which was previously included in the textbooks, has been removed.
But there are areas of agreement between the mainland and Taiwan. For instance, the historical status of Sun Yat-sen as the founder of the Republic of China is affirmed by both sides. Some historical figures who promoted ethnic integration or did meritorious service in ethnically mixed areas, such as Zhang Qian and Pan Chao, or who repelled foreign invaders, such as Wei Qing, or who made great contributions to academic thought, such as Sima Qian, are seen positively on both sides.
Comparatively speaking, the mainland shows greater respect for minority peoples, and its textbooks show no trace of "Han chauvinism." In mainland texts one will find none of the traditional derogatory names for non-Han peoples. The interethnic wars of the Three Kingdoms (220-265), Jin (265-420), and Northern and Southern Dynasties (420-581) periods are no longer termed "the 'rape' of China by the five barbarian tribes"; the "Jingkang 'insult'" of 1126, when the Northern Song dynasty fell at the hands of the Jin, is called the "Jingkang incident"; the "sinification campaign" by the Northern Wei emperor Xiao Wen Di (ruled 471-499) is termed a "reform," and so on. Professor Liao Lung-sheng of NTNU's history department, who has been studying the mainland's upper middle school history textbooks, finds them "far more down-to-earth than Taiwan's."
As cross-strait exchanges have grown, the two sides have come to a consensus in their view of some aspects of history. For instance, Wang Shounan says that on the "five tribes' rape of China," the latest textbooks no longer highlight these conflicts as "foreign wars," and in future they may very well be treated as "internal wars." And the mainland no longer portrays the Sino-Japanese War as having been fought by the Communist party alone, but has gradually come to acknowledge the Kuomintang's contribution.
The begonia leaf and the old mother hen
Comparative research on Chinese language and literature textbooks by Taiwan's National Institute for Compilation and Translation shows that in the texts selected for use in the mainland's textbooks, there is less classical Chinese and poetry and more vernacular writing, prose fiction and drama. In comparison, the texts used in Taiwan's textbooks include more classical literary language, and cover a very wide range from the Confucian Analects, Zhuangzi, the Book of History and the Zuo Zhuan to the Historical Records and even translations of Buddhist canons. Moreover, Taiwan's Chinese syllabuses explicitly include such goals as "mastering standard Mandarin Chinese" and "brush calligraphy skills" as teaching goals. Evidently Taiwan's Chinese textbooks, in addition to training linguistic skills, also bear a mission of transmitting culture.
Comparing the two sides' geography textbooks, the most striking difference is in the map of China itself. How big is China? Taiwan's map has the outline of a "begonia leaf," while the mainland's is an "old mother hen." So who is right? For political reasons Taiwan still uses the "begonia leaf" map, but where appropriate, current geography textbooks now add notes explaining such things as the mainland's rail and road construction since 1949, which may go some way to bridging the gap. Hong Kong uses the "old mother hen" map.
Some geography teachers in Taiwan thoroughly admire the way mainland textbooks use folk songs, slang and other vernacular forms of language to express geographical phenomena, such as "Four seasons on the same mountain, walk 5 km and you enter a different climate"; "The hot spring gurgles like a bubbling cauldron of boiling water"; or "If you want to get rich, first build roads." Many experts are discussing how such elements could be used in Taiwan's teaching materials.
Who's the real culprit?
What impression does one gain from reading all these textbooks, which look similar but are actually so different? A third-year lower middle school pupil surnamed Lin, who has been to school on both sides of the Taiwan Strait but is now attending the Nankai Middle School in Tianjin, says that whether in Taiwan or on the mainland, you have to learn the texts by heart. But later you will just forget them, so how much influence can they have? He believes that the only thing textbooks are good for is to help you pass exams!
Professor Kung Peng-cheng believes that in fact what textbooks impart is an attitude towards life. Perhaps after reading so many textbooks which talk about class struggle and resisting oppression, mainland schoolchildren are more aware of the darker side of life. When they meet with setbacks they may be better able to overcome them--but then again perhaps not. And after schoolchildren in Taiwan read teaching materials which stress benevolence, helping each other, honesty and the like, they may perhaps be inclined to think that everything will go smoothly and easily in their dealings with others, but when they really meet with an adverse environment they may not know what to do--but then again, perhaps not.
But Kung Peng-cheng stresses that all this is just speculation. For no-one really knows just how much of what children read in these textbooks is "internalized" as values. Perhaps the political, economic and social differences across the Taiwan strait are the real "culprits" behind our frequent misunderstandings!
[Picture Caption]
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Although schoolchildren in Taiwan, Hong Kong and mainland China are all Chinese, there are differences as well as similarities in the textbooks they learn from. How big is China? Even this map reveals a difference of opinion.
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Do slogans calling for courtesy and a sense of honor mean anything to mainland schoolchildren? How are moral values taught? Taiwan, Hong Kong and mainland China all have different approaches.
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Frequent use of slogans is common to both sides of the Taiwan Strait. This slogan on a street in Guangzhou reflects the mainland's "basic national policies." (photo by Pu Hua-chih)
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What attitudes towards ethnic minorities should textbooks impart? This is a topic being discussed not only in Taiwan, Hong Kong and mainland China, but in countries all over the world.
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In recent years mainland archaeologists have made many important discoveries, but Taiwan's textbooks have failed to keep up. (photo by Vincent Chang)
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This bronze statue of Sun Yat-sen in a memorial hall at his old residence in Zhongshan City, Guangdong Province, differs somewhat from the image people in Taiwan are accustomed to seeing. But Sun is revered as the Founder of the Republic on the mainland too. (photo by Pu Hua-chih)
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The space devoted to describing various countries of the world and the aspects stressed in each case differ vastly between textbooks on either side of the Taiwan Strait. Does this affect schoolchildren's world view? (photo by Chien Yung-pin)
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By comparison, Hong Kong's textbooks are livelier in their content and layout, contain less ideology and have a more pragmatic style.