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墨書 Inktalez
I was finally about to enter high school, but the acceptance letter I received was not from the prestigious County No. 1 High School as I had hoped, but from Dongkou Third High School located in Gaosha Town, my mother's alma mater.
Entering Third Middle School came as a result of two unexpected changes in the high school admissions process in Dongkou County this year. Looking back, the word "reform" echoed throughout mainland China in 1984, and these two changes might just be the educational reforms implemented in Dongkou County.
The first reform was that physical education scores were included in the criteria for advancing from middle school to high school. They even organized a special examination for it. Although this score was not calculated into the total like the other seven subjects, it was this exam that caused me to miss out on County No. 1 High School. The exam was conducted at the district level, with our testing site set at Bridgehead—Fifth Middle School. Our team was led by the school's physical education teacher, Luo Yongzhong's father. The exam included events like the Standing Long Jump, a fifty-meter sprint, and a vision test. Having graduated from Garden Middle School, where physical education consisted merely of doing calisthenics and playing basketball, we had never trained for long jumps or sprints. We relied solely on our physical foundation, but I was at a disadvantage; I was shorter and lighter than most of my classmates by a head and twenty to thirty pounds, and without any skills or techniques, the results were predictable. Later, I learned that to get into County No. 1 High School that year, students needed only a cultural score of 570 points but had to achieve over 60 points in physical education. Many students with lower cultural scores than mine managed to enter County No. 1 High School.
The second reform aimed to create several "prestigious schools" in the county. They decided not to let County No. 1 High School take all the top-performing students anymore but instead included Second Middle School and Third Middle School among those eligible for enrollment based on their rankings within the county. Each school would be allowed to admit sixty to eighty students whose cultural scores met the admission requirements for County No. 1 High School. This reform was under the control of decision-makers at the County Education Bureau; my father, as a middle school principal, was unaware of it, and I had no way of knowing either. Thus, I thought that based on my scores, entering Third Middle School meant I was somewhat wronged yet also a bit smug, believing myself to be an obvious "Top Student," with an air of superiority.
Gaosha was a place I had visited a few times before, and Third Middle School was easy to find. With just a simple bag of belongings, I arrived at school on September 1st, 1984, right on time for registration—paying fees, collecting textbooks, and being assigned dormitories...
The pace at school was quick; during registration, we were informed that there would be a general assembly for all students and teachers on the morning of September 3rd.
The early autumn sun was stubbornly hot as over a thousand students sat neatly on the playground with their own stools, not daring to make a sound. Even the seasoned third-year students and those attending makeup classes held their breath and pretended to focus on the principal—a man nearing his sixties who commanded respect—while he delivered his report in a rhythmic voice that resonated throughout the area.
I noted his slightly plump figure and his thick glasses that signified his intellectual status. He recounted the history of Third Middle School from its founding during the early Republic of China at Liaomei Middle School to its nurturing of numerous experts and scholars. Yet deep down inside me, I felt that this mother’s alma mater was merely one level above Garden Middle School.
As the principal invited a representative of the new students to speak on stage, the assembly reached a new climax. All eyes turned toward a lively figure confidently walking toward the podium—she was actually my classmate sitting right in front of me!
To others, she might have seemed petite; however, standing at under five feet tall myself, she did not appear weak at all. Her calm yet determined stride even made her seem "tall." Based on my own experiences—even though I belonged to the top echelon at Garden Middle School and had an invisible halo from having my father as principal—I would still feel flustered speaking in front of classmates and teachers. That time when I nervously led morning exercises while hiding in my father's small office without facing anyone directly made me acutely aware of how my voice wavered; in such unfamiliar situations, I would have likely wanted to flee.
"Dear teachers and fellow students," her clear voice echoed through every corner of the playground via the loudspeaker, pulling me back into focus as she spoke about how "Third Middle School is an excellent institution with a long history; it is our honor to attend this junior high school; we should learn from our older brothers and sisters in higher grades and strive to become well-rounded students..." To me, it sounded like "two orioles singing among green willows" or "pearls dropping onto jade plates."
Suddenly, there was silence from the loudspeaker; after continuing for two more sentences without realizing it, she paused calmly and turned her head slightly to glance at the principal presiding over the meeting before standing firm at the microphone again. After two or three minutes passed and seeing a staff member signal her, she gently tapped on the microphone with her finger before resuming her speech...
The assembly continued while deep inside me arose two words—stunning!
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