The series edited by Cao Wenxuan is accused of having inappropriate contents. Press： It has been concerned and is under self-examination.

Recently, after the textbook of People’s Education Edition was criticized for its illustrations, controversial contents appeared in extracurricular reading materials such as Seven Colors Flowers and Big Chinese, which were edited by well-known writer Cao Wenxuan, which once again aroused public concern. Some netizens pointed out that the "Great Language" series contains "explicit" folk songs, which are not suitable for children to read. In Seven Color Flowers, there is a plot in which a girl eats "poppy seed" bread, and whether it is appropriate or not has also caused controversy.

On May 30th, the staff of the editor-in-chief office of Tomorrow Publishing House, the publisher of Great Chinese series, told the cover journalist that they had paid attention to the controversial contents in the series and were conducting self-examination. The staff of the People’s Education Society also said that they were concerned about the controversy caused by "Seven Colors of Flowers" and were having a meeting to judge.

The cover journalist tried to contact Cao Wenxuan himself, but failed.

People’s Education Society book "Seven Colors Flowers"

Cao Wenxuan’s series is accused of including "explicit" folk songs.

Press: I will check myself if I pay attention to the controversial content.

Recently, Cao Wenxuan, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese Writers Association, vice chairman of the Beijing Writers Association and professor of Peking University, edited the Great Language series "Learn to Fly Like an Eagle" on page 36, and a folk song included in it caused a heated discussion on the Internet. Some netizens think that the content is "explicit" and "sexually suggestive", which is not suitable for children to read; Some netizens also believe that the series is an extracurricular reading for senior students, not a children’s book. The original text is a classic literary work and should not be taken out of context.

On the afternoon of May 30th, the staff of the editor-in-chief room of tomorrow’s publishing house told the cover journalist, "We have paid attention to the controversial contents in the Great Language series and are conducting self-examination."

The cover journalist learned from the context of the controversial content that it was a folk song lyric in Wang Zengqi’s novel The Dowager, and Cao Wenxuan compiled the excerpts of The Dowager into the book "Learn to Fly Like an Eagle". The recommended reading age of this series is 8-15 years old.

Being ordained is a short story written by Wang Zengqi and published in the 10th issue of Beijing Literature in 1980. The work describes the innocent and hazy love between the young monk Minghai and the peasant girl Xiaoying. He won the "Award-winning Works" award of the 1980 Excellent Short Story Award selected by Beijing Literature. In September 2018, he was selected as the most influential novel of the 40th anniversary of China’s reform and opening up.

Tomorrow’s publishing house "Great Chinese" series pictures come from the Internet.

The expression "poppy seed" appears in the supporting reading materials of primary schools.

Publisher: I’m in a meeting to judge.

The book Seven Colors Flowers, edited by Cao Wenxuan and Chen Xianyun, has also attracted attention recently. Some netizens reported that the expression "poppy seed" appeared in the reading "Seven Colors Flowers" published by People’s Education Society, which was considered inappropriate.

In this regard, the director of the media propaganda department of the People’s Education Society told the cover journalist that he had paid attention to the relevant disputes and was in a meeting to judge. A staff member of the People’s Education Society also said that poppy seeds are a kind of seasoning abroad, and there are many cases of literal translation of foreign literary classics published in China as "poppy seeds".

The cover journalist noticed that "Seven Colors Flowers" was a fairy tale written by the former Soviet writer Wa Ka Daieff in 1940. The version that caused controversy on the Internet this time belongs to the "Happy Reading Bar Classics Reading Series" of People’s Education Society, and the article "Seven Colors Flowers" included in the series was translated by Cao Jinghua, a famous Russian and Soviet literary translator.

At present, there are many versions of Seven-colored Flowers available on the market. The book abstracts provided by the e-commerce platform show that the article Seven-colored Flowers recommended by the Commercial Press for primary school Chinese reading is also literally translated as "poppy seed". Jilin Publishing Group’s Seven Colors Flower translated by Xingyue changed poppy seeds to "red beans". Seven-color Flower by Tianjin Education Publishing House is translated as "flower seed".

According to public information, poppy seeds, that is, poppy seeds, are a kind of seasoning abroad and are used to process bread, hamburgers and so on. In China, poppy seeds are strictly controlled and may not be sold in the market or used for processing other condiments.

Page 3 of People’s Education Society’s book Seven Colors Flowers (2nd Edition, December 2018)

What classics are suitable for primary and secondary school students to read?

The Guidance Catalogue of the Ministry of Education may be available for reference.

The cover journalist noticed that the two controversial books edited by Cao Wenxuan were both Chinese and foreign classics, and the original text was not obviously changed during the editing process. The two controversial books can be purchased normally on major e-commerce platforms.

If parents don’t want to buy controversial books for their children, what other books are recommended for primary and secondary school students? On April 22, 2020, the Catalogue of Reading Guidance for Primary and Secondary School Students in the Development Center of Basic Education Curriculum and Textbooks of the Ministry of Education (2020 Edition) (hereinafter referred to as the Catalogue of Guidance) issued by the Development Center of Basic Education Curriculum and Textbooks of the Ministry of Education recommended extracurricular reading materials for primary and secondary school students.

Official website, the Ministry of Education, said that the development of "Guidance Catalogue" lasted for one year, and 300 books were studied and demonstrated by an expert team of more than 110 people from the State Textbook Committee, relevant universities, research institutions and primary and secondary schools.

The person in charge of the Center for the Development of Basic Education Curriculum and Textbooks of the Ministry of Education once told the media: The Guidance Catalogue only recommends the name and author of the work, and does not specify the specific version (publishing house). Students, parents and schools can choose the appropriate version according to the actual situation, and schools around the country do not make uniform requirements and may not use it compulsorily.

Both Cao Wenxuan and Wang Zengqi, who are in dispute this time, have their works selected in the Guidance Catalogue. Cao Wenxuan’s selected work is "Grass House", which is recommended for reading in grades 5-6 of primary school; Wang Zengqi’s selected work is Wang Zengqi’s Prose, which is recommended for junior high school reading. The above-mentioned controversial "Being ordained" and "Seven-colored Flowers" were not included.

(Original title: "Cao Wenxuan’s editor-in-chief series is accused of inappropriate content. Press: Concerned about self-examination")