[Epoch Times News, June 8, 2025]
The National College Entrance Examination in mainland China took place on June 7, 2025. According to state media CCTV, a total of 13.35 million candidates participated in the examination, with the Chinese language subject concluded in the morning on the same day. This year’s exam questions have left many Beijing candidates exclaiming, “Too difficult!” The news sparked a heated discussion among netizens on Weibo, with many expressing that after being immersed in the rigors of society for so long, they found the questions incomprehensible.
Following reports from various mainland media outlets such as Jiu Pai News, after the Chinese language examination on the first day of the college entrance exam, the essay topics for each province have been revealed.
In the examination hall of the 11th School in Beijing, the first student to walk out of the exam hall revealed that the essay topics for Beijing included a persuasive essay on “The Second Sigh” and a narrative essay on “When Numbers Shine.” Candidates were given the option to choose one of the two topics, with both essays required to be no less than 700 characters in length.
When asked about their opinion on the difficulty of this year’s exam, the student mentioned above candidly said, “It’s ok, but a bit challenging.”
The news quickly spread online, drawing the attention of netizens across the entire mainland, with many leaving comments such as “No one cares more about the college entrance exam than those who don’t have to take it.” “After being ‘cattle and horses’ (slang for working hard under pressure) for so long, these topics are really hard to understand.” “This year is really different.” “I can’t even understand the questions now.”
Many Weibo users also expressed their opinions, stating that the exam was too difficult.
On June 6, the People’s Daily of the Chinese Communist Party summarized the essay topics for the Chinese language exams nationwide in 2025. The topics for the first and second sets of papers were as follows:
First Set:
– From Lao She’s “Drum Song Artist”: “He wanted to sing a section for the children, but his heart was in turmoil, unable to speak.”
– From Ai Qing’s “I Love This Land”: “If I were a bird, I should also sing with a hoarse throat.”
– From Mu Dan’s “Praise”: “I want to embrace you all with bloodstained hands because a nation has risen.”
Second Set:
“Tonight the dream of fallen flowers in the leisure pool,” “I want to dream of Wu and Yue because of it,” “Iron horses and ice rivers come into dreams…” Dreams often present our feelings and hopes in a unique way, opening up a broader sky for us. We often tell others about our dreams, record our dreams in writing, and take action to realize our dreams. If one day, we can give our dreams to others…
Regarding the topic of the first set nationwide, netizens found it satirical because Lao She, Ai Qing, and Mu Dan, all suffered severe persecution after the establishment of the Chinese Communist Party, although they once held illusions about the Party.
Blogger “Countdown to Senior Three” posted, “The topic of the first set nationwide seems quite abstract at first glance. Honestly, it’s confusing! It feels like not knowing what it’s talking about. It can be said that without understanding the background of the related works, it’s probably difficult to connect with national sentiments.”
Many mainland netizens took to Weibo to express their frustration, saying, “It’s too difficult.”