Shanghai educrats imitate Henry Ford
History is more or less bunk. It's tradition. We don't want tradition. We want to live in the present and the only history that is worth a tinker's damn is the history we made today. Henry Ford, Interview in Chicago Tribune, May 25th, 1916
When high school students in Shanghai open their history textbooks this autumn they may be in for a surprise. The new standard world history text drops wars, dynasties and Communist revolutions in favour of colourful tutorials on economics, technology, social customs and globalisation.Socialism has been reduced to a single, short chapter in the senior high school history course. Chinese Communism before the economic reform that began in 1979 is covered in a sentence. The text mentions Mao only once - in a chapter on etiquette.
Nearly overnight the country's most prosperous schools have shelved the Marxist template that had dominated standard history texts since the 1950s. The changes passed high-level scrutiny, the authors say, and are part of a broader effort to promote a more stable, less violent view of Chinese history that serves today's economic and political goals.
History without Mao is so much easier to teach: no Great Leap Forward, no Cultural Revolution. No spin or editing required. The government has always been your friend and protector.
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