Jessica Zhang of Beijing Foreign Studies University, who applied for a job this year in the foreign ministry, says she found the multiple-choice general knowledge questions easier than she expected.
“A HEALTHY society cannot come about when people study not for the purpose of gaining wisdom and knowledge but for the purpose of becoming government officials.” When Ye Shi, a Chinese philosopher, bemoaned this 800 years ago, China had already been choosing officials for hundreds of years on the basis of exams that required rote learning of ancient classics.
800年前,中国哲学家叶适悲叹道,“人学习不是追求知识和智慧,而是为了当官,如何能形成一个健康的社会?”当时,中国基于死记硬背古代经典的科举考试制度已经盛行几百年了。