Apart from the ritual, the headmaster also requires the students to recite Dizigui, (the rules of being a student), a book written by a scholar more than 300 years ago, which has long been deemed the classic textbook for manners and etiquette.

Wang decided to put the emphasis on politeness in 2008 when he came to the middle school and found a culture of disobedience.

"When I came here as the headmaster, I found that the school was in a mess - students were reluctant to study, teachers had low morale and rubbish was discarded everywhere," Wang recalled.

The etiquette education will make the students engender an attitude of respect toward the school as an institution, he said.

Chen Qiuxia, a teacher at the school, said that most of the students are "left-behind children" whose parents have migrated to work and may come home just once a year.

"The students had become rebellious and they don't always have the ability to tell right from wrong due to the lack of family input," Chen said. "They used to use foul language, smoke, spit everywhere or fight with others over trivial issues."

Behavior has greatly improved and the entire school has benefited, Chen said.

Student Yuan Yuan, 18, has been at the school for nearly three years. She has noticed a marked improvement in the behavior of her classmates.

However, some students have complained about the ritual.

"Students don't show respect when they bow, it is just a job they have to do," Yuan said.

She said reciting classic books may not have much relevance to problems faced by young people today.

Wang admitted that the school's etiquette education was sometimes at odds with modern life.

"We just tell the kids what is right and what is wrong," he said. "They can make up their own minds after they graduate."

Xie Anshun, head of the publicity department of the Luohe government, said that the school set a good example and more than 10,000 pupils will be organized by the government to recite the Dizigui on Children's Day on June 1.

Chang Cheng and Jiao Hongchang contributed to this story.