The bureau said the changes came after an ad hoc committee was set up in 2022 to update the guides, tasked with deepening pupils’ understanding of Chinese culture.

“Through related music learning experiences, such as appreciation and performance of Chinese music, Cantonese opera, Chinese folk songs, and Chinese art songs, students will learn about the relationship between the musical characteristics and their cultural background and significance, thereby cultivating proper values and attitudes among students,” the bureau said in the circular.

“Schools can devise themes that convey positive messages, as well as select artworks of the past and present from different cultural contexts to develop students’ proper values and attitudes, including cherishing Chinese culture, national identity, respect for cultural diversity, and developing a world view.”

The previous versions of the two guides were published in 2003.

Several revamped subject guides released previously, as well as some newly introduced subjects in primary and secondary schools, had already stressed raising students’ awareness of national security, identity, ­lawfulness and patriotism following social unrest in the city in 2019.

In the new guide on visual arts, schools are asked to design themes that convey positive messages and select artworks to cultivate students’ correct values and attitudes on cherishing Chinese culture and acknowledging national identity.

“When experiencing traditional crafts, such as kneading flour dolls and making lanterns, students cannot only make them by hand, but also learn the craftsman’s dedicated spirit and pursuit of excellence, thereby cultivating the importance of traditional Chinese virtues,” it said.

It said one of the main principles behind the curriculum for the visual arts subject was to strengthen national education and security education, as well as establish national identity – elements not seen in the last version of the guide.

The guide also introduced a Chinese perspective in the assessment criteria of students’ work.

“The assessment criteria must reflect different aesthetic perspectives, such as essentialism, formalism, instrumentalism, the aesthetics of Confucian and Taoist culture, and traditional Chinese painting theory,” it said, noting the previous version did not include the latter two Chinese-specific items.

In the guide on music, it said one of the new main principles of the subject’s curriculum planning was to ensure students had a grasp on the country’s conditions and knowledge of national security. The subject should promote national education and cultivate patriotism among pupils, strengthening their national identity through learning Chinese music.

The guide also asked teachers to play the national anthem, lead students in singing it and teach them the related etiquette. The subject must help students understand the relationship between the anthem’s musical elements and its cultural background, so as to enhance students’ understanding of national symbolism and identity, the guide added.

Education authorities said they would provide diverse resources and organise different professional development programmes for schools to implement the elements emphasised in the updated guides.

Chu Kwok-keung, a primary school principal and lawmaker representing the education sector, said infusing national identity and security education into both subjects aligned with the city’s latest social developments.

“I think we should see the new guides positively,” he said.

He said training should be offered to teachers to help them implement the new guides.