By JIN LIQUN (China Daily)
Updated: 2007-09-28 07:18

"I shouldn't have pulled the plug." So lamented many high school graduates, the so-called "young intellectuals", upon hearing the news that the national college entrance examination would resume after more than a decade's suspension.

The year was 1977.

Nine years earlier, in 1968, those teenagers whose education had been abruptly disrupted when the "cultural revolution" broke out were settling down in rural areas or on State farms to "receive reeducation". Many of them tried to continue their academic pursuits, mostly on their own, while working on the land. Unfortunately, except for a few, most gave up as nothing changed year in, year out.

The news that the tests were back was received with mixed feelings by those who were in their late 20s. Some had already married and had children. The college dream had long since left their minds.

The whole nation was instantly galvanized. All of sudden, applicants were champing at the bit. They started to dust off their textbooks and worked like crazy to refresh their memories of the equations and formulae in mathematics, physics, chemistry, etc. People were scrambling for textbooks, workbooks and teach-yourself stuff, which had become a rarity.

Old dreams were revived, though they still seemed illusive given the tough competition on a national scale. And the applicants had to tackle a formidable amount of material, with limited lead time.

Nevertheless, more than a quarter of a million young people who had refused to give up scored well on the entrance examination in 1977 or in the test for post-graduate programs in 1978.

I was one of the few high school graduates who got to skip the four-year undergraduate program and enroll directly in a postgraduate program in 1978. This happened after 10 years of hard life and work in a rural area in southern China.

Years later, people would often ask me how I kept my dreams of education alive after a decade of arduous living.

The truth is that I was never for a moment convinced that a nation such as China could survive or survive well without education. I am sure that my crude, but never narrow, nationalism was shared by many others of my generation.

Mere patriotism, however, is not the default motivation. It is difficult to stay focused on projects that are apparently way too remote from reality. There are so many things one can do for one's country, and so why would one choose to bury his head in books? If nobody cared to study, we as a nation would eventually have paid the dear price of callousness consequence.

The thirst for knowledge, the urge to learn and a curiosity about the unknown - these are the keys to the relentless pursuit of academic achievements. I am grateful to my parents and my elementary and high-school teachers for instilling in me the desire for knowledge early in my formative years.

I knew that at the minimum I should not waste my time. Life was tough in the rural areas, but the moment I set foot on that part of the land where I was destined to live for a good 10 years, I was instantly overwhelmed with the villagers' hospitality and friendliness towards me. I threw in my lot with theirs and helped with their grueling farm labor throughout the four seasons every year.

The redeeming feature of the hardship was that I could study without disturbance at night. The curious and innocent villagers, who would occasionally peep at me through the narrow window, seemed to appreciate my backbreaking labor, though of a different kind, and they cared for me, never calling me "a stinking intellectual".

My decade on the farm left an indelible mark on my mind. I once returned to the village and saw the great changes that had taken place since I left.

Psychologically, I have never left China's countryside. As my government career proceeded, I could participate in many policy formulation and decision-making processes. I was always resolute in my support for any policy that would bring tangible benefits to the rural poor and the rural economy.

Over the last three decades, I was fortunate enough to take charge of the infrastructure projects financed by the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank (ADB). I loved to see a road connecting a remote village, a power transmission line bringing light to farmhouses or irrigated farmland draped with luxuriant vegetation.

And now at the ADB, I have extended my efforts at poverty reduction to the poor and the needy in the rest of Asia and the Pacific.

With hindsight, we now understand that the re-launching of the national college entrance examination heralded a series of opening - up and reform programs.

By the time the first group graduated, the country had already embarked upon the reform and opening - up programs. A more acute hunger for graduates with newly minted degrees was never known. As post-graduate students, we did not have to chase jobs; we were chased by them. I remember that I had at least five alluring job offers. I was extremely honored to be invited to join the faculty of my alma mater.

Then Professor Xu Guozhang called me one day to tell me about a new option. The Ministry of Finance had asked him to recommend a student who could speak English to be posted to the Executive Director's Office at the World Bank. China had just resumed its membership in the Bretton Woods Institutions early that year, 1980.

When my maternal grandmother, who celebrated her 100th birthday this year, heard about my posting to the "bank of the world's money", her first question was not about how much money I would make.

Rather, she said: "My grandson, from now on you have two pockets, one is your private pocket and the other is the public pocket. Remember, you should not move a single cent from the public pocket to your private one."

Her words have never, ever for a moment ceased to ring in my ears.

My generation warmly embraced the reform and opening - up program initiated by the late leader Deng Xiaoping. In the latter half of the 1980's, I pursued a graduate program in economics at Boston University. That paved the way for my advancement in an entirely new policy environment.

That exam 30 years ago was not just a test of the applicants' academic accomplishments. More importantly, it was a test of their vision, values, mental toughness and, ultimately, their way of addressing life's challenges.

Students of the current generation seem to have more items on their agenda. They are in many ways much more sophisticated than we were. They are market savvy. They try their best to shape their academic pursuits to fit potential market niches.

The upside of market-driven job preparation and selection is that it will balance out the distribution of graduates in a variety of specialties. The downside is the inevitable herding, which will also disrupt, from time to time, the job market. When that happens, young graduates will have to deal with their frustrations and find ways to re-route their career path.

Each generation will face its own challenges. However, the responses to these challenges are likely to be similar. In this sense, what my generation experienced may be of some relevance to the young people of today and tomorrow. Thinking for the long term is the key. To harmonize and harness our personal ambitions to national aspirations is a good approach.

There has been a heated debate recently on the merits and demerits of the college entrance examination. This is a complicated issue, involving matters of development, the governance and regulatory system and demographics, among others.

Many students from poor families have managed to get into first-class universities by dint of sheer diligence. The exam system seems to ensure the most level playing field. Still, the system could always be improved.

Over the last 30 years, the economic and social landscape in China has changed beyond recognition. The young intellectuals who went back to school after a disruption of 10 years have emerged as active players in the process of national rehabilitation and reconstruction.

Today's China is a major player in the international arena. Not a single day passes without China making a headline in international media. The outside world's feelings about China are mixed: admiration, curiosity, concern, vertigo, etc.

China needs to be better understood. China has her strengths, but also vulnerabilities. A whole range of challenges needs to be addressed, such as sustainable growth, employment, social security, income discrepancies, energy security, environmental protection and so on. We have gone through many ups and downs throughout these years. There is neither room for complacency nor cause for despair.

My paternal grandfather, a self-made engineer inculcated in us a "Code of Conduct" - sustain your self-dignity in times of destitution and abjure arrogance in times of affluence. This applies to a nation, as well as to an individual.

The author is the former vice minister of finance and current vice-president of the Asian Development Bank

(China Daily 09/28/2007 page11)