Chinese Millionaire’s 27 Failed Attempts at University Entrance Exams: A Story of Perseverance and Disappointment

2023-06-28 12:38:05

1 hour

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Caption,

Liang Shi, pictured here in 2018, has tried to pass the exams dozens of times since 1983.

A Chinese millionaire says he has failed the country’s tough university entrance exams 27 times, most recently last week.

Liang Shi, 56, found that he had only achieved 424 out of 750 points awarded in this test.

The mark he obtained is 34 points below the minimum grade required to apply to any university in China.

Nearly 13 million students took the exams this year.

Liang has garnered local media attention before for his constant attempts to pursue a higher education.

Despite having attended the event dozens of times since 1983, this time Liang told local media that he was disappointed with his result this year and wondered if he would ever realize his dream.

“I used to say ‘I just don’t think I won’t make it,’ but now I’m torn,” the Sichuan man told Chinese media outlet Tianmu News.

A decisive opportunity

The Gaokao, China’s notoriously difficult national university entrance exam, tests high school graduates in mathematics, English and Chinese, as well as other science or humanities subjects of the student’s choice.

Chinese government data shows that only 41.6% of exam candidates were accepted into universities or other institutions of higher learning in 2021.

The Gaokao is seen as a decisive opportunity, especially for those from poorer families, in a country where a university degree is considered essential for a good job.

The tests have been the backbone of the country’s educational system since the 1950s, although they were suspended during the Cultural Revolution (between 1966 and 1976).

In Liang’s case, he explained that he always dreamed of being accepted to a prestigious university and becoming an “intellectual.”

After failing his first attempt in 1983, when he was 16, he worked at different sites but continued to apply every year until 1992, when he was deemed too old for the test.

In the mid-1990s, following the factory Liang worked at went bankrupt, he started his own lumber wholesale business.

He soon became a much more successful businessman than a student, earning a million yuan in a year and then starting a building materials business.

But in 2001, when the Chinese government removed the age limit for taking the Gaokao, he began his educational journey anew. He had only missed annual exams due to health problems or a busy work schedule.

Over the years, the reason for his continued attempts changed. First it was a goal to change his destiny and then it was done because he was not willing to give up.

“I think it’s a shame not to go to university, your life will not be complete without a higher education,” he told The Papers in 2014.

On June 7 of this year, he once once more went to a test center to take the exams.

For this occasion and to help him concentrate on studying in the previous months, he had refrained from drinking and playing the popular board game mahjong, activities called in China “the number 1 obstacle to Gaokao.”

Despite the effort, he did not succeed.

Liang has said that, unlike in previous years, he is beginning to feel defeated.

“I have been contemplating whether I should continue,” he told Tianmu News. “Maybe I need to reflect on myself.”

In another interview with Sichuan media, Liang expressed further doubts.

“I might give up (next year),” he said. “If I attend next year and fail, I will give up my last name Liang.”

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