介绍:
It's that time of the year again, a time when millions of fresh-faced twelfth-graders scribble on papers like there is no tomorrow, fretful parents and grandparents beleaguer every street near test venues, while all the other activities in this country seem to come to a halt, in order to create the optimal atmosphere for these undergraduate wannabes.
This is Gaokao, one of the most important and high-stakes exams in China. Established in 1952, this college-bound test is not only regarded by many as the future-defining opportunity, but is also treated with great delicacy as a cardinal state affair.
Yet in the eyes of 85-year-old Yue Daiyun, a professor of literature from Peking University, her college entrance exam was far less stressful compared with kids of today.
"Since my relatives and some of my friends' kids take the test, I always feel anxious for them. I witness their painful struggle. During the final year of their high school, their entire life seems to be under the thumb of their test papers. Their pre-Gaokao period is quite taxing. But when I look back, mine was not that intense. I graduated from Guizhou High School in 1948. Around that time, there was a different set of test papers provided by every college. Taking National Chengchi University for example, their questions were very politics-oriented. Among all the schools I applied, Peking University was the most open-minded. They even asked me to write an English essay on rain."
The recently-published book, "Examination Papers during the Republican Era", or in Chinese, "Min Guo Lao Shi Juan", is a fitting testimony for her memory. Compiled by the established educators Yao Qizhang and Yao Qicong, this archive-alike publication collects more than three hundred college entrance exam papers from over 50 universities. Arranged by different subjects and mingling with anecdotes of historical figures, the book serves as a perfect prism to peak at the social context of China in the first half of the 20th century.
Liu Lihua is the deputy editor-in-chief from New Star Press. Pointing at a question raised by National Central University in 1936, she says the tests around that time might be more down-to-earth than the current exams.
"Although this question is about geography, it has great practical significance. At that time, the north-eastern part of China was occupied by the Japanese. So the question asked students how to develop the northwest region and required them to answer it from different perspectives, including terrain, climate and economy. So it examined something that is much more comprehensive than pure academic performance. I remember when I attended the geography exam in the 1970s, they asked me which country produces the most cotton, which is not that challenging. "
As today's Gaokao only allows students with higher marks to land in better universities, Liu emphasizes that scores were not decisive in the early days.
"When I look over all those exam questions in this book, I am not only amazed by their application to real life, I am also impressed by the autonomy of teachers. For instance, the famous scholar Wen Yiduo once set two essays and asked students to pick one of them. The poet Zang Kejia not only answered both of them but gave a very concise answer to the second one. Wen was very satisfied. Despite Zang's failure in math, he still took him in. You see, teachers around that time had a say in admission. In that case, they recruited the most outstanding talents in various fields. "
Flipping through the pages, readers might be shocked by the complexity of those bygone questions. In the Chinese exam, students were asked to comment on Chiang Kai-shek's inaction during the war against Japanese aggression and how to solve rural bankruptcy; during a test called citizenship, they were required to discuss the relation between population and productivity; and students were also tested on their ability to translate ancient Chinese scripts into English.
But is this book really relevant today? Besides nostalgia or curiosity, why should we read examination papers from the 1940s?
Ma Yong, a researcher from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, provides his answer.
"When we look into the younger generation, we can see they are trained by this standardized education system. They spend most of their time in classroom rather than doing something extracurricular. They study for the sake of passing exams. If we want to revitalize our education in the future, we should go to history and tradition for help. At least, we could learn from their structure and mind-sets."
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