Popular Science Readers: An Aid for Achieving Scientific Literacy in the PRC

Abstract

The words of this revolutionary poem declare that the Chinese people are masters of their own fate. While conveying a spirit of self-reliance, this poem also serves a s a proclamation that the bonds of superstition that have constrained the Chinese peasants for ages are now broken. As one Peking commune official related to a foreign visitor, Fifteen years ago, the people in this commune believed i t was the Dragon King who controlled the rain - now we understand the scientific reasons.l Indeed, well into modern times, the Chinese peasant has r e - garded any natural phenomenon, whether a calamity or an auspicious event, a s an expression of supernatural powers - thus a diseased crop was interpreted a s a visitation of the gods and stoically accepted. Now, a s a result of a vigorous, ongoing campaign to promote scientific literacy, every production team within an agricultural commune has members knowledgeable in plant blights to initiate remedial action when needed. Furthermore, i t i s reported that sci...