我的眼里只有你,大学.
wǒ de yǎn lǐ zhǐyǒu nǐ, dàxué.
I see you and you only, university.
Ah, here we have the breezy, wistful, romantic and sentimental; this line is from a love song by Leehom Wang.
不苦不累,高三无味；不拼不搏,高三白活.
bùkǔ bùlèi, gāosān wúwèi; bùpīn bùbó, gāosān báihuó.
For who doesn't suffer the bitterness and tiredness of the senior year, it's meaningless; for who doesn't fight and struggle in the senior year, all goes in vain.
Another inspirational one, and another couplet of strict parallel pattern.
只要学不死,就往死里学.
zhǐ yào xué bù sǐ, jiù wǎng sǐ lǐ xué.
As long as you won't die of study, then study to death.
An aggressive one, of course, also a witty game with the characters.
Unlike the traditional upright slogans urging students to always study hard and persevere until the last moment, these witty little detournements are more realistic, funny and witty, with an added sense of self-mockery.
Many a picture of these fun slogans have been posted on the walls of senior high school classrooms–the battlefields of this fierce warfare–and have even be put on Weibo, which led to their widespread influence.
They have triggered discussions about their appropriateness. Some teachers have claimed that they reveal the materialism and profit-driven mentality of modern China. Others think that the students are merely making fun out of this serious and tiring issue, and it is good for them to release the pressure. Here's a slogan that others might be better off listening too: "Hey teachers, leave them kids alone!" From everybody at The World of Chinese, if you are about to take the gaokao we wish you the very best!
Image Courtesy of DJ郭琴的微博
Article by Meng Zhu
