Английская Википедия:Class of 1977 (China)
The Class of 1977, Class 1977, or simply Class 77 (Шаблон:Zh) refers to the 270,000 Chinese students who were admited to college in late 1977. This marked the return of the nation-wide college entrance examination after an 11-year suspension during the Cultural Revolution. Over 5.7 million young people took the exam; only 4.8% were admitted.[1]
Because the exam was held in winter, with students starting class in early March, the classes of 1977 and of 1978 entered university in the same calendar year. And, like the Class of 1977, the Class of 1978 also included a large number of older students from previous years of high school graduates. Therefore, they are often called jointly as "Class of 77 and 78" (Шаблон:Zhi). The enrollment of the Class of 1977 and 1978, alongside economic reforms in 1978, marked a turning point for the country. Many of the classes' graduates went on to make impressive contributions in various fields.[2]
Background
In August 1977, Deng Xiaoping, who had just come back to power for the third time, presided over a science and education symposium in Beijing. During the meeting, it was decided to resume the college entrance examination, which had been suspended since 1965. On October 12, the State Council approved the "Opinions of the Ministry of Education on Student Admission of Colleges and Universities in 1977", which then became the government policy for the exam and admission. [3]On October 22, the People's Daily published a report officially announcing to the whole country the resumption of the annual college entrance examination. The good news made many people burst into tears, especially the Educated youths who had been sent down to the countryside to receive re-education from the poor and lower-middle peasants for years. [4][5]
Application conditions
In order to take the exam, test-takers needed to fulfill the following criteria:[3]
- Having a history of supporting the Chinese Communist Party, love socialism, love labor, abide by revolutionary disciplines, and be determined to learn for the revolution;
- Having graduated high school, having an educational level equivalent to high school graduation, or being a high school student in the final year with excellent grades;
- Aged around 20 years old, no more than 25, unmarried (for those with rich practical experiences and academic achievements or expertise, the age can be relaxed to thirty years old, and can be married);
- Good health.
Admissions methods
The methods for the examination and admission include: [3]
- Those who meet the previous conditions can apply to their units Шаблон:Efn and fill in 2 to 3 preferences of college and subject. The unit will conduct the review according to the admissions conditions. Those who meet the conditions will be allowed to take the exam after approval by the county (or county-level district) admission committee.
- The exam is divided into two categories: liberal arts and science. Liberal arts subjects: politics, Chinese, mathematics, history and geography. Science subjects: politics, Chinese, mathematics, physics and chemistry. Students applying for foreign language majors need to take an additional foreign language test. The provinces, cities, and autonomous regions prepare the examination questions for themselves, and the counties (districts) organize and carry out the exams uniformly.
- The prefecture (or prefecture-level city)Шаблон:Efn admission committee organizes and carry out marking of examination papers and, based on the scores of the students, proposes a list of candidates for political review and physical examination (health check-up), and solicits opinions from the people in the units where they work or live. The political review mainly depends on one's own political performance. The prefecture (city) admission committee then proposes a short list based on the results of political review, knowledge examination and physical examination.
- Under the leadership of the provincial, municipal, and autonomous region admission committees, the colleges and universities will carefully review the short list and all materials submitted by the prefectures (cities), consider the candidates' wishes, and select the best. Admission priority should be given to National Key Universities.
From November to December of 1977, more than 5.7 million candidates aged 15 to 36 took the exam.[4]
Test preparation
During the Cultural Revolution, middle school study was shortened from 6 years to 4 years, and primary school from 6 years to 5 years. The knowledge learned by the students is very limited. Even the famous Tang poetry, Song poetry and Western literature were basically expelled from the Chinese language textbooks, and the courses of mathematics, physics and chemistry were replaced by "Basic Industrial Knowledge" and "Basic Agricultural Knowledge". The subjects of history and geography were not taught at all. As for English, the students learnt the 26 letters and a few words including "poor and lower-middle peasants", "worker-peasant-soldier students" and "comrades" that are rarely used in modern English.[2]
The students preparing for the test had to catch up in only two months, often relying on outdated or poor quality textbooks. Many middle schools offered free classes to help students prepare for the test. In some cases, these classes were so well-attended that students stood outside of the windows to listen, as the classrooms were filled to capacity.[6]
Examination and admission
The exam was highly competitive due to the large number of exam-takers. Those eligible to take the examination included at least 12 years worth of high school graduates, from 1966 when Gaokao was abolished to 1977 inclusive, and there were also outstanding high school students (to graduate in 1978) who took the exam in advance. So, there were candidates from 13 years.[7]
The provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions prepared their own examination questions. Unlike in the following years, there were no Nationwide Unified Examination with the same exam papers. The test times were different in different provinces and cities. For example, Beijing held the examination from December 10 to 12, while Fujian Province did it on December 16 and 17. Those taking the foreign language test sat that exam on an additional day.[3][8]
Initially, only 200,000 people were to be admitted to college. Later, due to the high turnout (5.7 million people)Шаблон:Efn and outstanding results of many test takers, admission was expanded to 273,000. Even so, the admission rate was 4.8%, still the lowest in the history of China’s college entrance examination.[1][5]
Because the exam was held in winter, with students starting class in early March, the classes of 1977 and of 1978 entered university in the same calendar year, only half a year apart. And like the Class of 1977, the Class of 1978 also included a large number of older students from previous years of high school graduates. Therefore, they are often called jointly as "Class of 77 and 78" (Шаблон:Zhi).[1] [5]
Characteristics
The Class of 1977 is quite unique in a number of aspects.
The group had a much broader range of pre-college social experiences due to the wide age range. When they entered college, the eldest students were over 35 years old, while the youngest only 15. In some cases, teachers took the test alongside their students, a mother and her daughter entered university at the same time. Some were already parents of several children, when some were still teenagers in high school.[9][6]
In the college entrance examination in 1977, because the preparation time was very short, the candidates’ original knowledge became particularly important. In addition to intellectual factors, non-intellectual factors also played a role in the success of those who were finally admitted. In an era when the theory that "reading is useless" was prevalent, they still insisted on reading. Moreover, after going to college, they treasured the hard-won study opportunity.[2]
According to a research project carried out in Xiamen University, the proportion of students with intellectual family backgrounds in grades 1977 and 1978 reached 25.38% and 23.46%, the highest in history, much higher than the percentage of 6.2% in 1965 (the year just before the Cultural revolution) and 9.83% of 1976 (when the Worker-Peasant-Soldier students entered colleges by recommendation instead of entrance examination). The proportions of those born in peasant families in grades 1977 and 1978 were 11.93% and 11.27% respectively, the lowest in history, compared with 47.05% in 1965 and 26.08% in 1976.[2]
After graduation
The 270,000 students admitted in 1977 graduated between 1980 and 1984,Шаблон:Efn when China's reform and opening up was in full swing. [2] After graduation, students were uniformly allocated to different jobs by the state in accordance with national plans (and consideration of their preferences), except for those belonging to the plan of "Commune-come-commune-back". Шаблон:Efn Even so, they still tended to get good jobs, as the whole country, especially the large cities and big companies, was in great need of them.[3][2]
Later, due to the high success rate of the Class of 1977 and 1978, they were nicknamed "Golden 77 and Silver 78" in the society. These college students gathered the elites among the young people of the past 13 years, so it is not surprising that the talents are relatively concentrated. In politics, science, business and many other areas, a large number of leading figures emerged from these two groups. And people saw an increasing number of Class of 1977 and 1978 members in the high-level party and government leadership groups in China. This has been called the "77 and 78 phenomenon" in Chinese politics.[9]
The Class of 1977 and 1978 started to retire in early 2000. Due to the wide range of their ages and jobs, the retirement will last for quite a few years.[2]
Notable members
See also
Notes
References
External links
- Relive history with 'Examination 1977' (a film in memory of the exam)
- 77级 (Class of 1977) (from Wikipedia Chinese version)
- China’s Pioneers: How Peking U’s Class of ’77 Changed China
- 77级、78级大学生的异同 (Similarities and differences between Class 1977 and 1978)
