Chinese primary textbook recalled after illustrations draw fire

(ECNS) -- China’s Ministry of Education on Saturday urged a state-owned educational publisher to redesign the illustrations in a set of elementary school math textbooks after they were widely criticized for being ugly and pornographic.

The illustrations in math textbooks from the People’s Education Press have triggered anger among netizens, which quickly topped the trending list on China's Twitter-like Sina Weibo on Thursday.

The viral snapshots of the primary school math textbooks showed some of the cartoon children depicted in strange poses, with crooked mouths, tongues sticking out and eyes squinting.

A girl character has what looks like a tattoo on her ankle. Some images depicting little boys also drew controversy for allegedly showing a bulge in their pants. The stars on a Chinese flag were drawn in the wrong places. Many people think the books are not simply ugly but also “evil”.

Media have reported that the textbooks were approved in 2012 and 2013, covering grades one to six. The controversial covers and illustrations were designed by the Wu Yong Working Studio. However, the industrial and commercial registration information of the studio cannot be found on enterprise information inquiry platforms.

The People's Education Press stated that there is no "Wu Yong Working Studio", and the illustrations were drawn by Wu Yong.

The controversial covers and illustrations for the textbooks will be redrawn and a full evaluation of all published textbooks will be launched, the People's Education Press announced on Thursday. "We humbly adopted the good opinions and suggestions from all walks of life,” said in its statement.

The rectification of relevant books will be finished before Sep. 1, ensuring new textbooks could be applied next semester, the People's Education Press added on Saturday.

The People’s Education Press is a major publishing house directly under the leadership of the Ministry of Education. Founded in 1950, it is responsible for compiling and publishing all kinds of teaching material for elementary education.