The famous (or infamous) Chinese national college entrance exam (gaokao) ended last Tuesday (June 8th).
Once again, this annual event occupied most headlines in the Chinese media sphere. In the meantime, it also generated intense discussions online on the fairness and relevance today.
Just days before the start of gaokao, a student roused national debate in a public speaking reality show when he described himself as a “countryside hog determined to ruin cabbages in the city”.
In the Chinese social context, “hog ruining cabbage” carries a negative connotation, referring to a man (the hog) marrying or dating out of his social class, with someone who is more privileged (the cabbage).
The 17 years old student, Zhang Xifeng, is sitting in this year’s gaokao. He described his humble upbringing, and the hardships he went through to prepare for the national exam. Zhang is a student in the (in)famous examination-mill Hengshui High School in Hebei province. The school is famous for its emphasis on student performance, it enforces spartan-like routines to prepare students for gaokao.
Zhang defended the school’s result oriented approach, stating that he and his fellow schoolmates put their lives on the line every day while studying, the ultimate goal is to get a good grade in gaokao, enter a prestigious university, and “change our destiny”.
He then went on to make the “hog ruining cabbage” comment, stating that he has learned to accept his past hardships, and hope his classmates would one day achieve the same mentality.
Zhang’s comment made its way to various Chinese social network platforms, where it has been criticised of being sexist. However, netizens who resonate with Zhang’s backstory and speech suggest that he is simply using the analogy, albeit inappropriately, to express his desire overcome various challenges for a better future.
Education has been historically seen as a way for one to move up the social status ladder. However in recent years, criticisms on how students in big cities have way more education resources at their disposal, therefore leading to an unfair advantage over their rural counterparts have repeated gained headline space.
According to official statistics, there are 10.78 million students taking part in gaokao in 2021. If past trends in college acceptance rate were to continue, only about 204,820 students will be accepted into the top tier universities (“Project 985”), which translates to about 1.9%. This is the harsh reality that millions of young Chinese teens have to face each year.
What’s more discouraging for youths from rural areas or from a less privileged background is that the acceptance rate for “Project 985” universities differs from province to province. In tier one cities such as Beijing and Shanghai, past acceptance rate could be as high as over 25%. While in populous provinces such as Henan where competition is stiff, acceptance rate could be as low as 0.001%.
It seems like education, the once fair and just pathway to success, is gradually closing its doors to those who are less well off. The feeling of inequality leaves a bitter taste in students with backgrounds similar to or worse than Zhang Xifeng.
The central government is well aware of the danger such feeling of inequality could post on social stability. In 2020, after years of having less than 20% of fresh intakes from rural areas, Tsinghua University, one of the top 2 universities in China, had 20.2% of its 2020 cohort come from a rural background. The authorities and university administration see the number as a significant improvement from before.
Of course, overemphasising on the background of students would mean neglecting their true academic capabilities. Addressing inequalities in education should not and must not only occur at the final stage of university application. The authority needs to focus its attention further upstream, be it the distribution of resources in primary schools, or the problem of excessive tuitions.
As the job market tightens and Tier 1 cities become increasingly unfriendly to young Chinese adults, the competition to achieve the “Chinese dream” of finding a well-paid job, starting a family, and finally settling down in a big city will only get tougher. The urban-rural divide on education resources contributes to a stagnating social mobility, which in turn could further deepens fissures in the entire society.
It is hard to predict what holds in the future for students from rural areas. But one thing can be certain is that the government is well aware of such a divide, and is using various administrative or economical methods to try to address the issue. Just as many other issues within the Chinese society, the top-tier decision makers are made aware of the dissents, directives and guidelines are passed down to the relevant authorities, the only issue is if the public will see the results before an implosion occurs.
The Sinographer 