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March 13, 2017

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Home » Feature » Art and Culture

If only ... we took time to read aloud more often

KIPLING’S advice on how to “make the earth yours” in his celebrated poem brought tears to the eyes of Chinese TV viewers recently when it was read on air by Guo Xiaoping, founder of the Red Ribbon School for HIV children in Shanxi Province.

Guo, appearing on the new hit show “The Readers,” told viewers how his school was initially misunderstood and even reviled when it opened in 2006. He said his determination to overcome obstacles was inspired by Kipling’s words, and the British poet, largely unknown to Chinese audiences, became a popular search word on the Internet.

“The Readers” is a surprise hit amid a TV and live-streaming landscape of soap operas, reality shows, quiz competitions, dating formats and celebrity stunts. The weekly 90-minute show draws its content from a reading booth that tours around China, giving ordinary people the chance to go on camera reading something they want to share.

Not everyone actually makes it to the TV screen, but that doesn’t deter people from wanting to participate. Long lines form when the booth is in Shanghai.

“I was so touched by Guo Xiaoping’s story and the poem he read that I decided to share my story too,” Cao Chanwen, a retired factory worker, told Shanghai Daily as she waited for her turn to read in the booth when it was in the city.

When she finally got inside the one-person cubicle, equipped with microphone and video camera, Cao read a piece she wrote about volunteer work she does.

“I lost the meaning of life when I retired,” she read, “and I asked myself: what will you do for the rest of your life?”

Volunteering in activities to help others, she read, keeps her busy and makes her feel useful.

“I didn’t even think about actually being one of those selected to appear on TV,” Cao said. “It’s was just delightful to have a show where I could participate. I can’t sing or dance, but I love reading. I also love sharing my experiences.”

Love of reading and interest in literature seem to be finding a niche of late in Chinese entertainment, and “The Readers” is part of the oasis amid usual TV drivel.

Among the recent popular offerings on TV is “Chinese Poetry Conference,” where contestants pit their knowledge of ancient Chinese poems, and “Letters Alive,” where celebrities and ordinary people are invited to read personal letters and share the stories behind them.

“I fell in love with ‘The Readers’ instantly and recommended it to my son,” said Jiang Liqian, a retired newspaper editor. “Now we watch the program together every week. It’s been a long time since we have done that because he is so addicted to games and animations. I hope it will spur him to start reading books again.”

The “Readers” booth was in Shanghai for a week, at Shanghai Library and Sinan Mansion. It attracted thousands of people who lined up every day.

Among those in the queue was Liu Keran, a Yunnan Province educator in his late 20s, who came to Shanghai on a business trip and went straight from the airport to Shanghai Library. When he arrived at noon, thousands of others had already formed a long queue twisting through the big plaza out front.

Liu said he timed his trip to coincide with the booth being in Shanghai. It took him two days to get to the head of the line, and once inside the booth, he read a letter his mother wrote him 10 years ago, just before he took the national college entrance exam. In it, she poignantly told him to enjoy university and make the most of his academic experience. She also reminded him to keep reading a lot because it would help him understand the world around him.

“It was a great opportunity to express my feelings, my gratitude toward my mom,” Lin said. “I don’t get to do that very often.”

He added, “I realize how children today don’t know how to read aloud, and neither do their parents. I surely hope that this show will make a difference, nudging kids to fall in love with reading and especially reading aloud.”

“The Readers” attracts a wide range of people. Among those who have appeared to give personal readings are Lenovo founder Liu Chuanzhi, actress Xu Jinglei and espionage novelist Mai Jia. Their appearances were a refreshing change from celebrities who usually go on air to flaunt themselves.

For some people, “The Readers” is an opportunity to reveal a side of themselves often misunderstood by others.

Zhou Ziqi, 15, studies at a private school that emphasizes ancient Chinese teaching methods and has caused a lot of controversy since it was founded in 2002. But Zhou isn’t a freak just because she loves classical Chinese.

“The media and the public have a poor image of students like me, who have been home-schooled and taught under traditional methods rather than in the modern school system,” Zhou said, holding a thick tome of ancient Chinese essays.

Many of her 60-plus schoolmates, aged 11 and older, came to participate in the show, reading excerpts ranging from Confucius to Lord Byron.

“I am different from the stereotypical image of a teenager, and what better opportunity to show who I am than a cultural program like this?” Zhou said.

“The Readers”

Saturdays, 8pm, CCTV-1; Sundays, 8pm, CCTV-3




 

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