The educational authorities in central China's Henan Province, the recognized home of Shaolin Kung Fu, are considering rejecting the Ministry of Education's proposal to introduce the waltz to schools nationwide in favour of the traditional martial art.

The ministry announced earlier this month that the waltz, along with six other dances, would be introduced into primary and secondary schools across the country this September in an effort to enrich physical education and promote fitness among pupils.

Yet many teachers and parents in Henan Province said kung fu would be far more effective than dance, as resources are readily available and many children already have an appetite for Shaolin boxing.

"Martial arts will not just build up children's health, they can help promote our traditional culture, too," said Liu Guojun, an official in charge of education in the city of Dengfeng, where the 1,500-year-old Shaolin Temple is located.

Shaolin Kung fu was among the first 528 items of state-level intangible heritage published by the State Council last year.

Dengfeng, China's best-known home of Zen Buddhism and martial arts, has been promoting Shaolin Kung fu at nearly 20 primary and secondary schools since the end of 2004.

"It's been easy; many locals are familiar with Kung fu and good teachers are abundant in Dengfeng," Liu said. The local government said at least 200,000 people in Dengfeng practice Kung fu.

Henan's provincial capital Zhengzhou will soon follow suit and introduce kung fu to schools starting in September, according to the city's sports administration.

Whether or not there is room for both kung fu and the waltz in Henan's schools is in doubt.

"I think urban schools can easily accommodate both, but I doubt whether they will both be able to be implemented in rural schools," said Guo Weiwei, an official with the provincial educational bureau.

Many of the province's 30,000 countryside schools do not have a teacher specializing in physical education, she said. "Some don't even have any sports facilities," she added.

Many parents are supportive of kung fu at school, believing that urban children, boys in particular, need to be more masculine in a society where report cards are deemed more important than physical fitness, according to Zhao Fengqin, a teacher with Yuhong Primary School in Zhengzhou City.

But, she continued, others are worried that their children might become more "violent" if they practice the martial art.

Zhao Caiqin, a kung fu teacher at the No. 2 Middle School in Dengfeng, says these worries are unfounded. "The children often demonstrate such strong morale that many parents were moved by their performance," she said.

A Ministry of Education survey earlier this year revealed an overall decline in the physical strength of Chinese school children.

The ministry has blamed this on students being overburdened with schoolwork and a lack of exercise, prompting calls for schools to ensure students practise some form of physical activity for at least one hour a day.

But when the ministry decided to diversify PE lessons with dance, some parents voiced concerns over "puppy love" that might distract their children from their studies and consequently cause them to fail academically.

A ministry official in charge of art and physical education tried to dispel these fears last week, saying that teenage love "would not blossom through dancing, nor would it die through a lack of dancing".

(Xinhua News Agency June 26, 2007)