The College Entrance Examination

In 1978, in the workshop of the Shaanxi Cotton Mill No. 8, a young intellectual youth took a week's leave. He took his photographic works and boarded a green train, all the way to the Beijing Film Academy, to participate in the school's entrance examination.

That was the first year the Gaokao was reinstated.

That year, the Gaokao was like a Dragon Gate. Countless 'carp' swam upstream. Talented individuals would not be buried. The young man passed the Dragon Gate and was admitted to the Beijing Film Academy, starting a new chapter in his life. Later, his name echoed throughout the world with the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. His name is Zhang Yimou 。

The restoration of the Gaokao system in 1978 attracted 5.7 million candidates nationwide. These were mainly countless intellectual youths scattered throughout the country and children of families labeled as 'rich peasants'/'landlords'. In the Gaokao examination hall, they shed their psychological burdens of class background and displayed their talents fairly.

Gaokao Changes Destiny This is a universally accepted truth. During this period, as long as you were admitted to a university, countless government agencies, public institutions, and major companies would come to recruit you. As long as you crossed the single-plank bridge of the Gaokao, the road ahead would be smooth and unimpeded.

The Gaokao became the Dragon Gate in the hearts of countless people. Passing through this gate meant transforming from a carp into a dragon and soaring to the sky.

However, those who could leap over this gate in 1978 were only 4.7% —— Only less than 5 out of 100 people could enter university and become the new generation of gifted youngsters. Besides Zhang Yimou, there is also our Foreign Minister heartthrob Wang Yi who also entered university through the Gaokao that year. Without the Gaokao, Wang Yi might still be farming in the Beidahuang (Northern Great Plain).

The Gaokao originates from the imperial examination system of ancient China.

The imperial examination system fundamentally changed the ancient 'hereditary system'. It completely broke the monopoly of clans based on bloodline and origin, allowing many talented individuals to directly enter the core institutions of the state. It is this system that directly enabled China's feudal period to stand at the world's peak and remain undefeated.

After all, whether in the eleventh century or the twenty-first century, the most valuable thing in the world is always——talent.

The importance placed on the imperial examination by the ancients was no less than that placed on the Gaokao today.

Before the imperial examination, people would first worship their ancestors. The saying 'ancestral graves emitting auspicious smoke' originates from this. Feng Shui itself is a type of Xuanxue (esoteric learning) in ancient China, a type of geomancy, also called Dixiang (geomancy) or Kanyu (geomancy). It is a philosophy that studies the laws of the environment and the universe. Since humans are part of nature, nature is also part of humans. Therefore, Feng Shui encompasses national fortune, family fortune, lifespan, official career, future prospects, and destiny, that is, Feng Shui encompasses everything. Good Feng Shui for ancestral graves represents that descendants receive blessings from their ancestors and have smooth sailing. Therefore, they would worship their ancestors before the examination to seek blessings, and also worship and thank their ancestors for their blessings after the examination.

At this time, the most important items were jue/gu 。 China has always had the tradition of No ceremony is complete without wine Therefore, wine is one of the necessities for ancestor worship, jue/gu is one of the simplest and most classic ancient wine vessels. The name of this type of wine vessel, jue, is because its shape resembles a bird, with a spout in front, like a bird pecking, a tail behind, and slender legs underneath. In ancient times, 'jue' and 'que' (sparrow) were homophones, hence the name. Jue, jiao, and jia are all drinking vessels, but their shapes are different. Jiao has no pillar, and both the tail and spout are triangular tips. Jia generally has a larger capacity, with two pillars but no spout or tail. At the end of the Shang Dynasty and the beginning of the Zhou Dynasty, gui appeared, combined with jue. Gong is also a drinking vessel, with a lid, spout, handle, and a square base or four legs.

Bronzeware was also used throughout the examination, and at this time, bronzeware naturally became ritual objects.

With the development of the country and the flourishing of education, various universities and colleges have sprung up like mushrooms after a spring rain. This morning, 10.71 million students entered the examination halls, and according to recent trends, the college enrollment rate has exceeded 75%, compared to 4.7% many years ago, which is quite impressive.

However, modern college graduates are also caught in the dilemma of Unemployment upon graduation As the topic most likely to cause anxiety, in recent years, " Gaokao is useless " has been rampant. Even today, some people still foolishly believe that "college students are working for high school students."

This statement negates the learning ability and thinking ability brought about by higher education.

Life is not just about the Gaokao. Aspiring individuals should hold onto their ideals; they shine brighter than academic qualifications.

Zhou Enlai's ideal was to study for the rise of China, while Beethoven's ideal was to become a world-renowned musician, so he vowed to seize fate by the throat. Ideals are wings; they can take you anywhere you want to go, including Peking University, Tsinghua University, Oxford, Harvard, and even the moon and Mars.

In fact, the Gaokao is more like a coming-of-age ceremony, marking the end of your innocent high school years. Since you've chosen to take the Gaokao, face it wholeheartedly and don't let down your twelve years of hard work. However, no matter the reason for not performing well, don't be discouraged. It's okay, don't blame yourself. A truly formidable life doesn't need to pass a single exam to succeed.  

The Gaokao is like the front end of the process of making bronzeware— Go Fan 。After going through many processes such as molding, shell making, and casting..., the rough model is broken Fan ，and the initial model is taken out; later, it needs to go through a series of polishing, grinding, coloring, etc...Only then can a beautiful bronze ware be produced. Life is the same, each experience is a happy experience, you must be cautious and determined, and never regret your decisions. Tagore said: If you shed tears when you miss the sun, then you will also miss the stars. 。

The Gaokao will always have its results, regardless of whether you do well or badly, don't give up moving forward. As long as you keep moving, the future will surely come. The Gaokao is just a "molding" of your previous efforts, and you will surely shine like a bronze artwork after later polishing. When you look back across the mountains and seas, you will realize that the score is not a lifeline, and the Gaokao examination room is just the beginning of your dreams.

From ancient times to the present, there has been not only the Gaokao as a way to select talents, but also the carrier of Chinese culture— Bronze ware making technology ，as intangible cultural heritage of bronze casting techniques as the inheritance place, Henan Huaxia Bronze Art Molding Research Institute is committed to the inheritance and development of bronze art.

Bronze art is not something that can be achieved overnight. Countless predecessors have devoted themselves to it, and we will also do our best. Just like the Gaokao, every day you work hard counts. We will strive for the innovative development of bronze art.

Finally, the Henan Huaxia Bronze Art Molding Research Institute wishes all candidates a smooth performance and success in the examination.

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Contact number: 15003882006

Contribution ：Huaxia Bronze Art Culture Department

Content compilation ：Yang Wentao

Content review ：Zhang Yu