China: 27 people punished over 'ugly' illustrations in school textbook

Twenty-seven people have been punished over the publication of a maths textbook in China that went viral for its illustrations which were termed as “tragically ugly”, The Guardian reported.The investigation conducted by a ministry of education working group went on for months and found that the the books were “not beautiful”, and some illustrations were “quite ugly” and did not “properly reflect the sunny image of China’s children”.

A statement was released on Monday by the education authorities that said that 27 people were found to have individuals were found to have “neglected their duties and responsibilities”. Those punished include the president of the publishing house, the editor-in-chief and the head of the maths department editing office. They were all given formal demerits, which can affect a party member’s standing and future employment.

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The illustrators and designers were also “dealt with accordingly” and their studios won't be allowed to work on textbook design anymore.

The pictures in question were printed in a maths book used in elementary schools and were published almost 10 years ago by the People’s Education Press. A teacher in May posted the pictures that quickly went viral and were criticised for bringing disrepute and “cultural annihilation” to China. They show people with distorted faces and bulging pants, boys pictures grabbing girls’ skirts and at least one child with an apparent leg tattoo.

Some Weibo users pointed out that the illustrations were covertly pro-American as some children were depicted wearing clothing with stars and stripes on them in the textbook.

“Absolutely there are traitors hidden somewhere, pro-US elements who have permeated our educational system,” said another user.

Following the viral images, the Communist party and education authorities announced a review of all textbooks “to ensure that the textbooks adhere to the correct political direction and value orientation”. The statement pointed out “scientific and normative problems” with the illustrations, besides some of them not being of appropriate size and poor quality.

(With inputs from agencies)