China lists "Jane Eyre" as required reading for ninth graders, with state media saying it fits the vision of women's equality

Nearly two centuries after "Jane Eyre" first challenged traditional conventions in Victorian England, China is asking a new generation of teenagers to read her stories.

This British classic has long been popular in China and has previously become a recommended reading for schoolchildren. But this fall, ninth graders across the country are being asked to read the novel in its entirety, according to Chinese state media. A state media report hailed it as an anti-materialist love story from which young people can learn.

The book, which tells the story of a young orphan named Jane Eyre who works as a governess in the wealthy but elusive Rochester family, was widely praised in China for its themes of independent spirit and gender equality.

The Chinese translation of this book first appeared in 1925, and since then there have been many translations, as well as stage and film adaptations. In 1979, just a few years after the Cultural Revolution and as China was reopening to foreign culture, a British adaptation was released in Chinese theaters.

Zhu Ping, a literature professor at the University of California, San Diego who studies Chinese feminism and literature, said the novel is in line with the Chinese government’s vision of women’s equality — an equality that can coexist with traditional gender roles and heterosexual nuclear families. She said the novel was included in ninth-grade textbooks as China grapples with population decline and the government encourages young people to get married and have children.

"'Jane Eyre' tells the story of an independent woman, but she does not go too far in challenging the power of patriarchy," Zhu Ping said. At the end of the novel, Jane marries Rochester and has a child. "All of these are what the Chinese government wants the younger generation to do," Zhu Ping said.

Published in England in 1847, "Jane Eyre" is striking for its portrait of a poor young woman asserting her independence, dignity and equality in a society where women - especially married women - have severely limited legal and economic autonomy.

The novel has long been praised in China for its feminist themes, with state media often quoting Jane's declaration to Rochester: "Do you think that just because I am poor, humble, unattractive, and short, that I have no soul and no heart? You are wrong! My soul is just like yours - and my heart is exactly the same as yours!"

Zhu Ping said that "Jane Eyre" was progressive in the context of the 19th century, but some contemporary feminists would think that its liberation concept has limitations.

Zhu Ping said the kind of feminism depicted in the novel has long been supported by the Chinese Communist Party. She added that this was at odds with the Communist Party’s view of more modern feminisms such as the #MeToo movement, “or the kind of feminism that teaches women not to get married, not to have children — that’s a feminism they are completely unacceptable to.”

In recent years, the Chinese government has restricted other depictions of love and relationships.

Authorities have detained dozens of writers of "Danmei," a genre of gay romance novels written primarily by heterosexual women and marketed to heterosexual female readers, which state media say may influence young readers' sexual attitudes.

Regulators are also seeking to rein in a popular miniseries genre about wealthy executives falling in love with less privileged people, urging creators to avoid glorifying marriages to the rich and powerful.

State media say novels like "Jane Eyre" offer young readers an alternative to what they call "superficial" "love stories." An article in Beijing Daily, the official publication of the Chinese Communist Party, argued that teaching literary classics such as "Jane Eyre" helps children "establish a positive outlook on life."

Chinese readers have long sought their own meaning in Jane's stories.

Vicki Lee, 46, read "Jane Eyre" when she was young and saw some of herself in the heroine. She said that many years later, she recommended this novel to her two daughters, now 13 and 15 years old, because she wanted them to become independent and brave.