Category Archives: Scholarship and education

Remembering Ji Xianlin

Ji Xianlin dies. He was a ‘national treasure,’ but was he a ‘master of national learning’?

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The political background check of a petitioner’s daughter

Beijing media report two cases in which girls had their college application paperwork rejected because of their parents’ political problems.

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Students choose English, oracle bone characters for entrance exam essays

A student answers his college entrance exam essay question using oracle bone script. Another student answers his high school entrance exam essay in English.

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Object lessons in human cruelty

Wu Fei, an essayist and educator, uses the inclusion of Schindler’s List in a middle school textbook as the starting point for a discussion about the dehumanizing effect of on-screen killing, from televised executions intended to calm the anger of the public, to war movies that feature graphic violence.

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Invisible Wings: 2009’s college exam essay questions

Beijing’s essay topic was “invisible wings.” That and the rest of this year’s prompts, as well as some responses from famous authors.

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Hangzhou high school students complain about spring break

Hangzhou high school students launch a website to complain about classes scheduled during the spring break.

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Civics lessons, Xinjiang style

Students at an elementary school in Urumqi have to memorize the names of local and national leaders.

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Simple arguments for character standards

Pan Qinglin proposes eliminating simplified characters. The Ministry of Education wants to standardize character mnemonics.

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Schools disagree on how best to cover a book

It’s the start of a new semester and the debate over book covers is in the news once again.

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Boom and bust for “hope schools”

The Beijing News investigates the huge number of abandoned primary school buildings in Changyang County, Hubei Province.

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