Kenneth Pai (白先勇), one of the most prominent contemporary Chinese writers, said the nation’s universities should open more classes teaching traditional Chinese arts, music and opera to help students better understand the beauty of Chinese culture.
In a speech delivered at National Chengchi University on Tuesday, Pai said he feels depressed and worried that education in humanities is leaning heavily toward Western culture.
“In the long run, people will lose confidence in their own culture,” Pai said. “We should change this trend and offer more courses to help our students appreciate the merits of our traditional culture.”
Pai, who has devoted a lot of energy to promoting Chinese kun opera since he retired from his teaching career in the US, opened a class this semester on the aesthetics of kun opera at National Taiwan University (NTU).
At the start of the semester, more than 2,000 NTU students registered to attend the class. In the end, only 400 students -formally selected the course.
In his speech, Pai said it seemed the education system has been focused on chasing Western technology over the past few decades.
“From elementary school to university, we concentrate on cultivating scientists and technology professionals while overlooking humanities and the arts,” he said.
Worse still, he said, cultural courses tend to emphasize Western culture, with more students studying Western painting and Western music than studying brush painting and Chinese music.
While recognizing the appeal and achievements of Western music and arts, Pai said traditional Chinese culture also has many merits that should not be ignored or forgotten.
“Our schools should be more active in offering classes that teach students how to appreciate traditional Chinese painting, performing arts, opera and music. Otherwise, our youths will think that traditional Chinese culture is an inferior or second-class culture and lose confidence in our cultural heritage,” he said.
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