Since the reform in 1978, with the rapid development of economy and society, Chinese economy has transferred into market economy from command economy. The average 10% growth of GDP has lifted more than 500 million people out of poverty. The Millennium Goal of the U.N. has been fully or partially achieved throughout China. At present, the 12th Five-year Plan in China emphasizes the development of service industry and the solution of imbalance of environment and society. The government has set goals to reduce pollution, enhance energy efficiency, improve educational opportunities and medical insurance and expand social security. The 7% growth annual goal demonstrates that the government is concentrating on the quality of life rather than the speed of growth 。
China will endeavor to ensure every employee to have average 13.3 years of education. If the goal is achieved, a majority of people entering the labor market will be having Bachelor’s degree.
In the next few years, China will increase the number of people in vocational college. Except focusing on the higher education, the government will find a breakthrough point to ensure the justice of education. China is trying to optimize education resources and, accordingly, the countryside as well as the less developed areas will receive more support.
In addition, the education ministry decides to improve the nutrition of students in less developed areas and provides equal opportunities for the children of workers from out of town to receive education in the city.
The ideal rural lifestyle reflected in the art and literature is a great characteristic in Chinese civilization. It is largely attributed to the Taoism affection to nature.
There are two most preferred topics in traditional Chinese paintings. One kind depicts various happy scenes of family life in which the elderly play chess and drink tea, young men farm and harvest in the field, women weave or sew clothes and kids play in the outside. The other depicts the recreations of rural life. In these paintings, fishermen fish on the lake, famers hew or collect herbs on the hills and scholars compose poems or paintings under pine trees. These two themes respectively represent the ideal life of Confucianism and Taoism.