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Kate Zhang

China’s education ministry has punished 27 officials over illustrations in primary school maths textbooks after online complaints that they were sexually and ideologically inappropriate.
Following an investigation, Guo Ge, editor-in-chief of state-owned People’s Education Press – the biggest textbook publisher in mainland China – was removed from his post, the ministry said in a statement on Monday.
Huang Qiang, Communist Party secretary and publisher at People’s Education Press, received a serious warning and a demerit, as did Tian Huisheng, director of the ministry’s national textbook department.

Two other officials who handled mathematics texts were sacked and a further 17 officials from the publisher and five from the ministry were given party disciplinary punishments.
It comes after People’s Education Press apologised in May following criticism on social media that the illustrations in the textbooks were “ugly” and “sexually suggestive”.
Complaints included that the characters in the textbooks were given small eyes that some commenters perceived as racist, that they appeared to show children’s genitals, and that some characters wore clothes patterned with stars and stripes, reflecting Western influences.
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In Monday’s statement, the ministry said the textbook illustrations were “problematic” and “not uplifting” and that they fell short of the “basic requirements of moral education”.
“The overall style does not meet the public’s aesthetic taste. Some characters in the illustrations are ugly and in bad spirits, not properly displaying a positive image of the children in our country,” the statement said.
The ministry said some illustrations did not meet standards and contained errors, while others were not detailed and accurate enough.
Beijing has in recent years tightened control over primary and secondary school textbooks and curriculums to ensure they align with the party’s ideology. The government has banned the use of textbooks from overseas publishers and ordered that a set of standard texts be used to teach Chinese language, history and politics.


The ministry said it would strengthen party leadership over the development of teaching materials to make sure they stick to the “correct political direction and values”.
It also criticised the publisher for not strictly following protocol in reviewing textbooks and said the ministry’s national textbook department lacked sufficient guidance and supervision.
The ministry said its investigation did not find any evidence of bribery between illustrator Wu Yong and general consultant Lu Jingren, but said Wu, Lu and another illustrator involved would not be hired by the publisher again.
People’s Education Press was earlier ordered to re-illustrate the maths textbooks and the ministry said in a separate announcement that this had been completed and the texts would be ready for the new semester next month.
The new illustrations were done by a team from the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing, and they have had a positive response on social media.
“[They] are normal, beautifully drawn and much better than the previous ones,” one commenter wrote on Weibo, China’s heavily censored equivalent of Twitter.
Another said: “This is what textbook illustrations should look like.”
The ministry also said it was conducting a comprehensive review of the content of nearly 2,500 primary and secondary school textbooks, teaching materials and extracurricular reading.


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Chinese officials punished over ‘problematic’ maths textbook illustrations

China’s education ministry said the maths textbook illustrations were “not uplifting” and fell short of the “basic requirements of moral education”. Photo: Handout

People complained online that the illustrations were “ugly” and “sexually suggestive”. Photo: Handout 

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Some online users accused the illustrator of deliberately making the children in the textbook appear ugly. Photo: Weibo

The illustrations were described by some online commenters as inappropriate. Photo: Handout

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State-owned publisher’s editor-in-chief and two other officials sacked and another 24 have been punished, education ministry says
People’s Education Press apologised in May after complaints that the illustrations were sexually and ideologically inappropriate



State-owned publisher’s editor-in-chief and two other officials sacked and another 24 have been punished over the primary school texts, education ministry says.


Chinese officials punished over ‘problematic’ maths textbook illustrations

State-owned publisher’s editor-in-chief and two other officials sacked and another 24 have been punished, education ministry says People’s Education Press apologised in May after complaints that the illustrations were sexually and ideologically inappropriate

State-owned publisher’s editor-in-chief and two other officials sacked and another 24 have been punished, education ministry says

People’s Education Press apologised in May after complaints that the illustrations were sexually and ideologically inappropriate