Beijing Airport bookshop offering Communist Party history and a George Bush biography - though note the display's eye-line hierarchy, Dubya's at the bottom right. Putin fans will also find lots of reading options.
But look who was browsing the political and military history section:
Teenagers! Not your typical western Yuff behaviour. There's English teenagers who don't know the dates of the World Wars, here in China we have teenagers with a good grasp of Maoist and Tang dynasty military tactics and thorough knowledge of The Long March. Of course there's a lot of force-fed history through schools and university but there's also PC games and innumerable historical TV shows that also help keep interest and cultural relevancy high. But its also motivated by national pride, young people here have a strong and uncomplicated sense of national pride that may be surprising to many Westerners.
No comments:
Post a Comment