Homework 1,300 years ago reveals Xinjiang's school life in ancient times

STORY: Homework 1,300 years ago reveals Xinjiang's school life in ancient times DATELINE: May 20, 2022 LENGTH: 00:01:42 LOCATION: TURPAN, China CATEGORY: CULTURE SHOTLIST: 1. various of China's Xinjiang 2. various of a document unearthed in 1969 in Astana ancient cemetery 3. SOUNDBITE (Chinese): DILINUR MAIMING, Docent at Turpan Museum STORYLINE: What was school life like in China's Xinjiang in ancient times? A document unearthed in 1969 in Astana ancient cemetery in Turpan, eastern Xinjiang, offers an intriguing glimpse. The document is a 5-meter scroll, written by Bu Tianshou, a 12-year-old student in 710 AD, Tang Dynasty. Bu transcribed several chapters of two books -- the annotations of the Analects of Confucius by famous scholar Zheng Xuan and The Thousand Character Classic, a Chinese poem used as a primer for teaching Chinese characters to children in ancient China -- both were assigned readings at that time. SOUNDBITE (Chinese): DILINUR MAIMING, Docent at Turpan Museum "This is a copy of Zheng