. 24/7 Space News .
SUPERPOWERS
Children learn patriotic spirit at "Red Army school"
by Staff Writers
Zunyi, China (AFP) Feb 13, 2017


In powder blue and gray military uniforms, red kerchiefs, and caps emblazoned with crimson stars, young Chinese students in the southwestern province of Guizhou perform kung fu exercises in their courtyard to stave off the winter cold.

Their small school, Yang Dezhi, is situated in the rural hills of Wenshui town and was established more than a hundred years ago during the final years of the Qing dynasty.

But it has undergone a more recent overhaul.

In 2008, it was designated a "Red Army primary school" -- funded by China's "red nobility" of revolution-era Communist commanders and their families - one of many such institutions that have been established across the country.

Such schools are an extreme example of the "patriotic education" which China's ruling Communist party promotes to boost its legitimacy -- but which critics condemn as little more than brainwashing.

"The Red Army spirit is a real asset for children. It teaches them to be hardworking and thrifty from a young age," said school manager Mu Chunyong, who oversees the 136 pupils in first through fourth grades.

Guizhou province is one of China's poorest, but even there, most families are now able to afford relatively comfortable lives, making it important to remind students of the hardships of the past, he said.

"If you don't instill kids these days with a sense of the evolution of history, the kids won't cherish their current living conditions."

There were more than 200 red army schools as of last year.

Sometimes bearing names of prominent Party elders, they are built in "old revolutionary areas", once cradles of Communist rebellion but still often among the country's poorest areas.

In the 1930s, Yang Dezhi sheltered Red Army soldiers during their epic Long March through remote and hazardous terrain as they fled rival Nationalist forces.

The nearest city, Zunyi, was where Communist China's founding father Mao Zedong first consolidated his power over the future ruling party.

Yang Dezhi's Red Army school credentials came with increased funding, which it used to increase teacher salaries and buy backpacks, clothing and water mugs for the children, among other things.

A "red culture" class was added to the curriculum, in which children learn to sing nationalistic songs with military precision, discuss stories about the early days of the Communist Party, and study local Red Army history.

Like all buildings in China's south, the school has no central heating. Instead, children take breaks every hour or so to perform guided exercises in the courtyard to get their blood pumping.

Every afternoon, they spend five minutes using their fingertips to massage the area around their eyes to relax before the last round of classes - a practice taught in all Chinese schools.

At lunch, they line up in the canteen to serve themselves one by one from trays of rice and huge silver pots filled with potatoes, beans, and chicken, before eating in silence.

Students walk at most half an hour to get to school every day through roads often muddied by the region's fine, persistent rain, stopping at small roadside shops to buy neon-hued, sugary packaged snacks.

A martial spirit can teach children "self-reliance, self-confidence, and how to strive for self-improvement," said Mu.

-- This story accompanies a photo essay by Fred Dufour --


Comment on this article using your Disqus, Facebook, Google or Twitter login.


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


.


Related Links
Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com
Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com






Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

Previous Report
SUPERPOWERS
US, Japan say defense pact covers disputed Senkaku islands
Washington (AFP) Feb 10, 2017
US President Donald Trump offered Japan assurances Friday that mutual defense agreements cover the disputed Senkaku Islands, claimed by China as the Diaoyus. After repeatedly questioning defense pacts, Trump signed off on a joint statement with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe that reaffirms America's security guarantee. The pair said they "oppose any unilateral action that seeks to undermine J ... read more


SUPERPOWERS
Progress Underway for First Commercial Airlock on Space Station

A new recruit for ESA's astronaut corps

The Outer Space Treaty has been remarkably successful - but is it fit for the modern age?

Full Braking at Alpha Centauri

SUPERPOWERS
India to launch record 104 satellites next week

ISRO tests C25 Cryogenic Upper Stage of GSLV MkIII

Russia to call tender for 2nd Phase of Vostochny Spaceport construction in Fall

NASA sounding rocket launches into Alaskan night

SUPERPOWERS
Swirling spirals at the north pole of Mars

UAE Aims to Launch Its First Ever Mars Mission in 2020

Opportunity Takes Advantage of her Location to do a Mini Science Campaign

Curiosity rover sharpens paradox of ancient Mars

SUPERPOWERS
China looks to Mars, Jupiter exploration

China's first cargo spacecraft to leave factory

China launches commercial rocket mission Kuaizhou-1A

China Space Plan to Develop "Strength and Size"

SUPERPOWERS
An exciting year in space for Intelsat

Iridium Adds Eighth Launch with SpaceX for Satellite Rideshare

Space, Ukrainian-style: Through Crisis to Revival

ESA Planetary Science Archive gets a new look

SUPERPOWERS
Most stretchable elastomer for 3-D printing

New material that contracts when heated holds great industrial potential

Record-breaking material that contracts when heated

Aavid Thermacore Europe's technology will keep solar satellite cool

SUPERPOWERS
Dedicated Planet Imager Opens Its Eyes to Other Worlds

New planet imager delivers first science at Keck

First footage of a living stylodactylid shrimp filter-feeding at depth of 4826m

SF State astronomer searches for signs of life on Wolf 1061 exoplanet

SUPERPOWERS
New Horizons Refines Course for Next Flyby

It's Never 'Groundhog Day' at Jupiter

Public to Choose Jupiter Picture Sites for NASA Juno

Experiment resolves mystery about wind flows on Jupiter









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.