China's education system has long had a chary attitude toward matters of romance. Middle-school students are often warned against canoodling, while for many years, Chinese college students who chose to get married were summarily kicked out.
中国的教育系统向来对早恋这件事态度谨慎。中学生经常被警告不准做出亲热的动作,而很多年来,进入大学的中国学生若要选择结婚则会被立刻开除。
But a high school in central Henan province has grabbed the spotlight with its approach to regulating puppy love: it threatened to expel any students who are seen holding hands more than once.
但河南中部一所高中对于早恋的规定却引发了媒体的关注。这所学校威胁将开除那些拉手超过一次的学生。
Posted as part of a set of mirthless 'Eight Prohibitions,' the rules also ban using cellphones, theft and cheating, state media reported. In addition to moratorium on hand-holding -- highly un- Paul McCartney in spirit -- the rules also banned on-campus birthday celebrations, with those who attempt to merry-make also threatened with expulsion.
官方媒体报道称,除了禁止拉手(必须说,这项规定完全不符合保罗・麦卡特尼(Paul McCartney)的精神),该校的“八项禁止”还包括使用手机、盗窃和作弊。此外,该校也禁止在校园举行生日聚会,那些参加生日聚会的人也将面临被开除的命运。
Attempts to reach Yanshi High School were unsuccessful. However, according to a report in the state-run People's Daily, the school said its goal was to 'cultivate high-character students and to increase the quality of the school's administration.'
记者未能联系上偃师高中。不过,据官方媒体《人民日报》的一篇报道,该高中说,这所学校的目的是“培养高素质人才,提升办学质量”。
Local media lambasted the regulations. 'If you carefully examine the prohibitions, you find some are not reasonable, they're not scientific,' one writer opined in the Beijing Morning Post. Birthday parties, the author wrote, could help students become more fraternal and mutually caring in their attitudes toward one another.
中国的媒体对相关规定大加批评。《北京晨报》刊登的一篇评论文章说:“细看偃师高中的八条禁令,发现有些禁令本身就不合理,不科学。”文章作者写道,生日聚会可以成为教育学生相互关心、团结友爱的有利契机。
China's education system is characterized by its single-minded drive toward helping students succeed at the gaokao, or college-entrance exam, with punishing levels of pressure and grueling schedules de rigueur. Extracurricular affairs of the heart are accordingly strictly frowned on: In years past, schools have banned male and female students from standing too close to one another or dining together, and taught students to avoid touching each others' waists in dance class.
中国的教育体系的特征是,一门心思帮助学生在高考中取得成功,这给学生带来了极大的压力,让学生背上了沉重的课业负担。正因如此,课外谈情说爱被严厉禁止。数年前,曾有学校禁止男女学生站得过近、禁止男女学生共同用餐,而且还在舞蹈课上叫学生们不要碰彼此的腰部。
Following the backlash, the Yanshi high school amended its regulations to say it will kick out students only if their dating has a 'negative influence.'
在遭到媒体抨击后,偃师高中将禁令内容调整为“有谈恋爱行为,造成恶劣影响的开除学籍”。
Draconian or not, some doubted that the school's rules would have much of an impact on increasing levels of academic industry anyway. As 15-year-old Hunan high school student Wu Yilian said, the inability to hold hands isn't likely to dim the ardor of a school crush.
暂且不论这些禁令是否过于严厉,一些人对偃师高中的这些规定能否在很大程度上提高学业水平产生了质疑。湖南一位名叫吴忆莲(音)的15岁高中生说,禁止拉手或许无法浇灭学生的暗恋热情。
'Some of my classmates are involved in some sort of relationship, but they don't need to hold hands in school. This rule is unlikely to have any real effects. Not holding hands doesn't mean anything,' Ms. Wu said.
吴忆莲说,她的一些同班同学有恋爱关系,但他们不需要在校园内拉手,这一规定不太可能产生实际效果,不能拉手没有任何意义。