The dreaded College Entrance Exam aka the gaokao is about to start and it is bringing massive attention from the public to senior high school students across the nation. These young and stressed out warriors are facing a challenge time indeed.Over this intense summer time battle, they undergo most tedious work and immense pressure–there will be tears, fights, relief and even the odd suicide. It is a difficult time. Staying indoors, studying until late in the the night, doing endless exercises and exam papers. It is a dark period I remember well.
However, things have changed a bit this year, with students nationwide adding a touch of fun to this blight upon their lives. The so called post-90s generation have long been deemed an outlandish and rebellious bunch. Again, they stressed they their teenage kicks by engaging in a touch of sloganeering to stand up to that blasted College Entrance Exam.
These slogans can be categorized into different types: the aggressive, inspiring, artistic, humorous and realistic. Usually rhyming, these catchy slogans are bound to raise a smile–some are even parodies of classic sayings and poems. Anyway, these mischievous kiddos are pretty smart. Let's have a look at their wordsmithery:
吾日三省吾身,高否？富否？帅否？否,滚去学习！
wú rì sān xǐng wú shēn, gāo fǒu? fù fǒu? shuài fǒu? Fǒu, gǔn qù xué xí!
Everyday, I check with myself. Am I tall? Am I rich? Am I handsome? No, then go damn study!
This is a parody of a famous saying by Confucius. Originally, it goes: everyday, I check with myself three times to see whether I am loyal to the people who I work for, whether I am honest to my friends, and have I reviewed what the teachers taught me. While gao fu shuai, on the other hand, is a popular slang meaning tall, rich, and handsome.
熬一个春夏秋冬,享一生荣华富贵.
áo yígè chūn xià qiū dōng, xiǎng yīshēng róng huá fù guì.
Endure the hardship of a spring, summer, autumn and winter, enjoy the wellbeing of a lifetime.
Obviously, this one belongs to the realistic type, the two lines paralleling each other.
进清华,与主席总理称兄道弟.
jìn qīnghuá, yǔ zhǔxí zǒnglǐ chēng xiōng dào dì.
Go to Tsinghua, to be bros of presidents and premiers.
Since many national leaders were graduated from TsinghuaUniversity, including Hu Jingtao, Xi Jinping, and Zhu Rongji, if you are able to go to university there, well, they can be your bros.
