eye exercises

'One day at morning assembly the headmaster told us we were going to do eye exercises. He said Chairman Mao had observed that there were too many schoolchildren wearing spectacles, a sign that they had hurt their eyes by working too hard. He had ordered something to be done about it. We were all terribly moved by his concern. Some of us wept in gratitude. We started doing eye exercises for fifteen minutes every morning. A set of movements had been devised by doctors and set to music. After rubbing various points around our eyes, we all stared intently at the rows of poplars and willows outside the window. Green was supposed to be a restful color. As I enjoyed the comfort the exercises and the leaves brought me, I though of Mao and repledged my loyalty to him.'

'Jung Chang (b. 1952), Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China. As quoted in Chinese Religion: An Anthology of Sources, edited by Deborah Sommer, 1995.