The set of elementary school textbooks caused fierce controversy

In a statement last week, People’s Education Publishing House (China) said it would redesign the illustrations after the publisher’s textbooks became a hot topic on Weibo with more than 2 ,2 billion reads.

The controversial illustration is a picture of a child whose face is small but tries to enlarge.

Some have accused this as an implicit sign of racism.

In another photo, several children are seen wearing shirts with stars and stripes. Many people accused this image of implicitly supporting the US.

“There’s definitely a traitor lurking somewhere – pro-American elements have infiltrated our education system”a Weibo user said.

Some cited other images in this textbook series, claiming that it was pornographic because it contained sensitive images.

The artist who drew these illustrations is becoming the target of attacks on Chinese social media.

The publisher’s representative defended this person, saying that he did not mean bad, just because his style is relatively modern and does not suit the popular aesthetic.

Meanwhile, many illustrators believe that illustrations for children must be close to their aesthetic.

“I don’t think the artist himself should have any bad intentions. But some netizens exaggerated a few things. For example, some things could be a problem of creases in clothes. The drawing is not very good but There are no malicious intentions. I also hope that everyone respects the artist’s artistic creation.” said an unnamed female illustrator.

The People’s Education Publishing House said it has begun redoing the illustration. “We strictly continue to absorb good opinions and suggestions from all walks of life,” this publisher said.