Secondary school students in China are increasingly opting out of studying history as an exam subject, prompting concerns among academics and officials about potential vulnerabilities to distorted historical narratives. This development comes amid Beijing’s intensified campaign against what it terms “historical nihilism”—interpretations or claims that contradict or undermine the government’s official historical narrative—and the spread of pseudo-history.

Liu Linhai, dean of the School of History at Beijing Normal University, underscored the significance of history education in maintaining historical, cultural, ethnic, and national identity. In a commentary published recently, Liu warned that the marginalization of history in secondary education poses an urgent challenge for policymakers, who must address underlying structural issues affecting the subject.

Authorities have raised alarms over unorthodox views gaining traction online. Last week, a newspaper affiliated with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences featured two front-page articles highlighting pseudo-history as a “new variant” of historical nihilism. An editorial emphasized the potential for such narratives to cause social confusion, threaten ideological security, and weaken cultural confidence and national identity. A separate article explored the widespread dissemination of false claims that the Tang dynasty (618–907) never existed, illustrating how social media algorithms can amplify fringe theories into viral content.

Liu pointed to the evolving landscape of historical knowledge production and consumption shaped by the internet and social media, where amateur historical research has contributed to the spread of inaccurate information. He stressed that robust history education in secondary schools is crucial to ensure students develop sound knowledge and appropriate values, cautioning that any weakening of the subject could have serious repercussions.

The decline in history’s prominence has coincided with educational reforms introduced since 2014 aimed at increasing subject choice flexibility within the highly competitive college entrance examination system, or gaokao. Under the revised framework, only Chinese, mathematics, and English remain compulsory, while students select additional subjects from science and humanities streams that contribute to their final scores.

Despite this theoretical freedom, Liu noted that practical constraints remain. Students’ decisions are influenced by the requirements of the zhongkao, the examination for high school admission, and the specific preferences of universities, which tend to limit subject choices. Consequently, students often make pragmatic selections focused on maximizing exam performance rather than personal interest.

Data indicate a sharp and continuing decline in the proportion of students choosing history in most provinces, a trend that has led to a reduction in teaching hours for the subject. Liu cautioned that these developments, if left unaddressed, could undermine efforts to foster historical awareness and national cohesion.