It's ladies only in special middle school for girls

"The modest, retiring, virtuous, young lady, for our prince a good mate she is" - such is the image of femininity portrayed in Shijing, or The Book of Poetry.

Now 2,000 years later, this ancient vision of what it takes to be a woman has found expression in the curricula of some middle schools, universities and colleges.

With the opening of the new semester, Shanghai No 3 Girls Middle High School started offering classes on feminine manners. The coursework is designed to improve the personalities of female students and train them in such traditional arts as flower arrangement and needlework.