A recent ministry order that obliges the nation’s elementary schools to increase calligraphy classes has triggered widespread discussion, amid extensive concern that keyboard use has cramped children’s penmanship.

According to a notice issued by the Ministry of Education on its website Friday, senior elementary school students will have one hour of calligraphy class every week, and high schools should set up calligraphy as an optional course.

The news ranked as the most popular topic on Weibo, China’s Twitter-style microblog site. And as of Sunday morning 88 percent of 9,069 Internet users, who took part in a survey hosted by the website on making calligraphy classes compulsory at school, voted in support of the penmanship-reviving policy.

Among the supporters, some wrote they believe calligraphy education introduces pupils to Chinese traditional aesthetics, some hailed the policy as they posted that their handwriting had suffered from lack of practice since childhood, and most wrote they worry about the decline of calligraphy which they regard as one of the fundamentals of Chinese culture.

Opposition to the policy was also posted. Some frowned upon enforcing it on schools and students, and some argued it would only add pressure on the already overstretched students. Most of the surveyed expressed their concerns that in an education system where students are pushed to excel in exams so as to enter key schools, children are already overloaded with academic work, and compulsory calligraphy education only will makes things worse.

According to the education ministry order, calligraphy courses will teach students to write standard Chinese characters in a proper way, using the right gestures. Students in higher grades should also learn to appreciate the work of ancient calligraphers. The ministry ordered regions with adequate education resources to start calligraphy lessons in September, the beginning of the fall semester.

Xinhua