The challenge of academic writing for Chinese students within ...

imperial civil service examination. An infamous poem of Song Zhenzong Zhao Heng (968-
1022), one of the emperors of the Northern Song Dynasty (A.D. 960-1127) – Lixuepian (to
encourage learning) runs as follows:
富 家 不 用 买 良 田 , 书 中 自 有 千 锺 粟
安 居 不 用 架 高 堂 , 书 中 自 有 黄 金 屋
出 门 莫 恨 无 人 随 , 书 中 车 马 多 如 簇
娶 妻 莫 恨 无 良 媒 , 书 中 自 有 颜 如 玉
男 儿 若 遂 平 生 志 , 六 经 勤 向 窗 前 读 .
To be wealthy you need not purchase fertile fields,
Thousands of tons of corn are to be found in the books.
To build a house you need not set up high beams,
Golden mansions are to be found in the books.
To travel you need not worry about not having servants and attendants,
Large entourages of horses and carriages are to be found in the books.
To find a wife you need not worry about not having good matchmakers,
Maidens as beautiful as jade are to be found in the books.
When a man wishes to fulfil the ambition of his life,
He only needs to diligently study the six classics by the window. (Yu & Suen,
2005)
This poem was quoted extensively generations after generations as a motivational motto. The
poem projects the ideal life that learning, and passing the civil service examination would
lead to – lavish food, luxurious mansions, an entourage, and beautiful women, and enunciates
the idea that learning for passing the examination would change one‘s social status and bring
prosperity and privileges to one‘s family. The civil service examination system had become a
dominant approach to social prestige and officialdom in later imperial China (He, 1964).
It would be an exaggeration to claim that students‘ learning in today‘s China is driven solely
by passing examinations, but to ignore the claim would underestimate its influence. There are
three important examinations students face in their student life – junior secondary school
entrance examination, senior secondary school entrance examination and National College
Entrance Examination (NCEE). High scores in junior secondary school entrance examination
would ensure admissions to a top class in a key school, which, it is assumed by many, would
lead to better performance during the school and high scores in the senior secondary school
entrance examination. Admissions to a top class in a key senior secondary school would
maximize students‘ chances to enter into a good university with a high ranking in league
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