Editor,

I like the article "Encourage youth back to serious arts (April 6)."

This writer does indeed have a good perspective on young people in all her articles. Yes she did say in a previous essay that kids need to get out and exercise more too. All of this depends on their not having to be in the house constantly cramming and doing homework, a lot of which is pointless repetition. And they will develop richer cultural interests when their schools expose them first to good provocative theatre and other arts. Pop culture can be cool and still be profound and thought provoking. All kids need that combination to draw them into a rich cultural history.

The other good development is approaching classic works from a modern and experimental perspective. I think China right now feels kind of like the early '60s in the United States and around the world, a time with enough prosperity to start to make a lot of cultural change and evolution as well as a lot of social reform. The whole world needs that again right now. A creative and hopeful period and not a destructive one.

Interesting, via e-mail

(China Daily 04/27/2006 page4)