China adds Jane Eyre to ninth-grade textbook — ECNS
In China, Charlotte Brontë’s novel “Jane Eyre” has been included in the full-length works reading section of a Chinese language textbook for ninth-grade students. The change took effect from the autumn semester of 2026, ECNS reports.
Popularity of the novel
The publication notes that the story of Jane Eyre has long been popular among Chinese readers. Thornfield Hall, Mr. Rochester and Jane herself have become part of the shared literary memory of several generations in China.
ECNS describes the novel’s protagonist as a short and outwardly unremarkable but determined woman who does not wish to submit to fate. The publication calls the work’s enduring popularity among Chinese audiences an example of cultural exchange between China and the West.
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Publication and film adaptation
The novel became widely known to Chinese audiences decades ago. In 1979, a film adaptation of “Jane Eyre” was released in China. The following year, the Shanghai Translation Publishing House published the first Chinese edition of the novel, translated by Zhu Qingying, with a print run of about 270,000 copies.
More than a century after it was written, Charlotte Brontë’s “Jane Eyre” continues to find new readers in China. ECNS links the work’s relevance to its themes of dignity, love, independence and resilience.
