Poetry is the surprising star of a TV show
To many people's surprise, one of the most popular recent TV reality shows in China has been Chinese Poetry Conference, a classical Chinese poetry competition devoid of any TV stars. What makes the show's popularity head-scratching is that Chinese classical poetry gives many people a headache during their school days.
Perhaps the excellent production values are the main attractive feature of the show. Almost every Chinese student is made to recite classical Chinese poetry during their primary and middle school, even kindergarten, days. And quite a few of them have to struggle to even recite them, because they find them boring and rarely understand their real meaning.
The rote learning method in Chinese schools may be to blame for making such poems unattractive and uninteresting to students. But the TV show has helped the audiences to rediscover the beauty of classical poetry through its lively presentation.
