It's a question that plagues teachers and students alike, in classrooms all over the world. How do I make classic literature interesting? Perhaps no other nation has such a large amount of classical writing as China, and perhaps no other nation is trying to find the answer as publicly.

In China, there's no better time than right now to get into classical literature. There are perhaps thousands of texts to choose from, including the four canonical novels, the ancient teachings of Confucius, and endless collections of poems.

But the real question is: how do you understand it?

For many people, and especially foreigners and children, the texts themselves are too difficult. And so the majority of newcomers turn to something else: adaptations.