mistake in sec history book went unnoticed for 7 years

[LOLMum]

moe is going to change the textbook for （“The Living Past - History of Ancient India,China and Southeast Asia”）next year，because of a mistake which went unnoticed for 7 years.



日期:01/05/2012新闻来源:联合晚报记者:林文川 高健康摄影:吴庆顺


历史课本错7年　教育部明年大换书

中学英文历史课本摆乌龙，把中国古代的“诸侯”（feudal lord）当成“士”（Shi），一错7年，教育部明年大换书！

晚报记者发现，本地中二的英文历史书《活着的过去－印度、中国和东南亚古代史》（“The Living Past - History of Ancient India,China and Southeast Asia”），在介绍中国古代政治制度时，张冠李戴地把“诸侯”当成“士”。

书中写道，商朝和周朝天子将土地分封给效忠自己的人，这些人被称为“士”（shi），“他们不但拥有封地，也统治封地范围内的百姓”。

不过历史学者指出，封地的统治者应该称“诸侯”而非“士”。“士”在当时只是贵族与知识分子的泛称，有些可能有官职或土地，但全都必须听命于诸侯。

教育部感谢 晚报指出错误；令人震惊 200所中学 没教师发现。

完整报道，请翻阅01.05.2012《联合晚报》。

[Brenda10]

Hi LOLMum,


Thank you for sharing.

I thought this book is meant for Secondary One ?

We had bought this book and hopefully the teacher will point out this when they start teaching this subject after June.

[LOLMum]

Hi brenda10


I don't know which level this book is for cos dd is using another history book.

Hope that when the book list is out at the end of the year, moe or school would inform parents that they shouldn't pass this book to the younger sibling. And this book shouldnt be donated to or collected by the \"free textbooks\" scheme. Not many people would remember..... :xedfingers:

Am sure schools are informed....so kids have to do some corrections in the book.

[verykiasu2010]

what is the English equivalent of those Chinese terms wrongly quoted in the history text ? looks like just the wrong title being applied, and there are so many titles in use in all the previous dynasties …any English equivalent ?

[LOLMum]

here is the english report. looking at a page, lots of erasing needed to do by the students when studying.



Glaring error in history textbook goes unnoticed for 7 years

Edvantage | Tue May 1 2012

An error in a history textbook used by secondary schools in Singapore has gone undetected for seven years, until now.

In an explanation of governance in ancient China, the textbook erroneously refers to \"feudal lords\" during the Shang and Western Zhou dynasties as the \"shi\" - a glaring inaccuracy, say history academics and experts.

The \"shi\", they point out, are the nobles and intellectuals who may hold positions in government and sometimes own land, but they ultimately yield to the feudal class, reported Lianhe Wanbao.

The textbook with the conspicuous mistake is \"The Living Past - History of Ancient India, China and Southeast Asia\", which is approved by the Ministry of Education (MOE).

Now in its second edition, the first version was approved by MOE for use back in 2006.

In one of its chapters, \"The Living Past\" deals with the topic of feudalism and the class of people who were rewarded with land for their support of the king.

The textbook refers to them as the feudal \"shi\", a mistake which is repeated 24 times over, according to a tally by Lianhe Wanbao.

In response to a Wanbao query, an MOE spokesperson said the ministry will work with the publisher to inform history teachers of the error, and will issue printed corrections.

MOE will also work with the publisher to print the corrected details in next year's edition.

The head of the Chinese humanities division at Nanyang Technological University, associate professor Cheung Chiu-Yee, said the textbook's author could have thought of the \"shi\" as a collective term for nobility, and hence used it interchangeably with \"feudal lords\".

[email protected]

http://www.edvantage.com.sg/edvantage/news/news/1087174/Error_in_history_textbook_undetected_for_7_years.html

[pinky]

IMO, I don’t really call that a glaring mistake, sometimes difficulty in translation may play a part too.

[Nebbermind]

the history book is in chinese?

[LOLMum]

Nebbermind:

the history book is in chinese?

it is in english.

pinky:

IMO, I don't really call that a glaring mistake, sometimes difficulty in translation may play a part too.

true but in this case, i dont think it is a translation mistake. it is a case of mistaken identity.

[Nebbermind]

Ok...think I got it.


They also used the word 'shi' in the text (The textbook refers to them as the feudal \"shi\").

I guess that instead of translating 'feudal lord', they translated only half the term, ie, 'lord' which is 'shi' and ended up with a mutated 'feudal shi'. Is that right?

[AC_Power]

I only heard of feudal lord used in translation. Feudal shi?