New China Literacy

New China Literacy

The State’s Anonymous Essay

What 338 gaokao prompts reveal about the questions China asks its young, from reform-era humanism to the return of national purpose

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Yaqi Li
Jul 03, 2026
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On the morning of June 7, a few minutes past nine, roughly thirteen million Chinese teenagers turn over a sheet of paper and read a short passage followed by an instruction: write an essay of no fewe…

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