Schoolchildren love his wry poems about spelling, learning by rote and other hardships of education.

ECONOMIST: Literary biography

Hong Kong is aiming to get away from its old system of learning by rote, in which pupils were endlessly drilled for a few very academic exams.

ECONOMIST: Education in Hong Kong

Learning by rote is out.

FORBES: Magazine Article

Payment-by-results need not mean learning-by-rote.

ECONOMIST: Teachers�� pay

But the traits that made it an economic powerhouse in the 20th century easy capital, big companies, rote learning, management by mandarins and stable jobs for male breadwinners are ill-suited to the 21st.

ECONOMIST: Japan as number three