Story perspectives
China Requires Full “Jane Eyre” Reading for Ninth Graders
By Drooid · · How we work
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Story summary
- China mandates ninth-grade students read the novel “Jane Eyre” in full this fall.
- The novel has been recommended reading for Chinese schoolchildren for decades.
- UC San Diego professor Ping Zhu says the novel fits the government’s view of women’s equality.
- Zhu adds it promotes independence without excessively challenging patriarchal power.
- The curriculum change coincides with China’s push for marriage and higher birth rates amid population decline.
