Printed in Shanghai and distributed by Chung Hwa Book Company (中华书局),Published by Chung Hwa Book Company (中华书局), this set of geography textbooks was used by Chinese-medium high schools in Singapore in the 1950s and 1960s.While the titles of the textbooks can be translated as "Local Geography”( 本国地理), its content of the three volumes covers the physical and human geography of China, and not the region. The textbooks also discusses about the economic development and defense structure in China, to raise awareness in students about the precarious political and economic position China was in and to inculcate patriotism.Before World War II, the majority of the local Chinese community staunchly regarded China as their motherland and “local” to them did not mean Singapore but China. This mindset started to change after 1949, with the founding of the People’s Republic of China, and the Chinese community increasingly identified with their land of residence. However, some Chinese-medium schools continued to use such China-centric textbooks that were distributed to various Chinese communities in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia.
