After the conclusion of the Chinese language test on the first day of the 2025 Gaokao in China, there was a widespread outcry online about the essay topics, with many people criticizing them as “too difficult! Can’t understand.” Overseas scholars and international students believe that just from the essay topics in the Gaokao, it is evident that the Chinese Communist Party’s education system is about brainwashing and imprisoning thoughts and spiritual freedom.
On June 7th, the first day of the 2025 National College Entrance Examination in mainland China, exams were held for both Chinese language and mathematics, with particular attention on the essay topics in the Chinese language section.
This year, there were 5 sets of Chinese language exam papers, with Beijing, Tianjin, and Shanghai each having their own independently designed papers, while other regions utilized two sets of exam papers designed by the Chinese Ministry of Education’s National Education Examination Institute, known as “National Exam Paper One” and “National Exam Paper Two.”
After the release of the 5 essay topics, people observed that the difficulty level of the essay questions in “National Exam Paper One” and “National Exam Paper Two” was significantly higher than those in the papers from Beijing, Tianjin, and Shanghai.
“National Exam Paper One” used excerpts from literary works like Lao She’s “The Drummer,” Ai Qing’s “I Love This Land,” and Mu Dan’s “Praise” as materials, requiring candidates to come up with their own themes and ideas for writing. “National Exam Paper Two” used three ancient poems related to “dream” as materials, introducing the concept of “sending dreams,” also mandating candidates to generate their own themes and ideas for writing.
Many netizens criticized that the essay topics in these two sets were “too difficult” and “incomprehensible.”
According to reports, the head of the National Education Examination Institute of the Chinese Ministry of Education responded, stating that this year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory of the war of resistance against Japanese aggression, hence the essay topics were filled with “historical consciousness” and “patriotism.” Zhu Yuguo, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of People’s Education Press, mentioned that it’s not easy for students to score high marks.
On the other hand, the essay topics in the other three sets were relatively easier. The essay topic in the Beijing set allowed a choice between discussing the phenomenon of “second wind” in long-distance running or writing a descriptive essay on the flashing numbers on various electronic displays.
The Tianjin set’s essay topic used the convergence of the spokes of a wheel at the hub to propel the wheel “rolling forward” as material, requiring candidates to generate their own themes for writing.
The Shanghai set asked students to write an essay based on the connection between professional articles, popular articles, and enduring articles.
Historical scholar Li Yuanhua, currently in Australia, told Epoch Times reporters that the education system under the Chinese Communist Party serves authoritarianism and confuses party loyalty with patriotism.
He said, for instance, in the context of high school and university education in China, it has become a large-scale “brainwashing factory” for political propaganda. If students cannot conform to the “red thinking,” they won’t achieve high scores, which is not education but mental slavery.
Regarding the essay topics related to the resistance against Japanese aggression in the National Exam Papers, Guo Yuxuan, studying in the UK, expressed that such content is always included to “whitewash” the legitimacy of the CCP’s rule.
She emphasized that the CCP distorts the history of the war against Japanese aggression through selective memory or direct falsifications, using exams to promote a political narrative where students must express patriotism and praise the Chinese Communist Party to the extent of no longer daring to question their authority.
Just before the Gaokao, the Ministry of Public Security of the CCP announced two penal cases involving the truth about the history of the war against Japanese aggression. One incident in January involved a netizen spreading rumors about collaboration between the CCP’s Red Army and the Japanese Kwantung Army, while in April, another netizen spread information about the number of Japanese troops eliminated by the CCP forces, indicating that the CCP was not the “main pillar” in the resistance against Japanese aggression.
Guo Yuxuan viewed this as the CCP deliberately creating fear before the exam, as they fear the truth and any different historical narratives. She believes that once students are exposed to alternative historical narratives, the CCP’s constructed myth of political legitimacy will collapse.
Li Yuanhua also noted that the CCP is afraid of people questioning their actions during the war against Japanese aggression. Exposing the true history would dismantle the CCP’s lies, making them extremely fearful.
He added, questioning the CCP’s historical actions is synonymous with questioning their legitimacy as a ruling power, thus causing them great panic.
Regarding the Ministry of Education’s mention of the essay topics reflecting “historical consciousness” and “patriotism,” Li Yuanhua analyzed that the objectives of the National Education Examination Institute are related to the current international situation the CCP is facing, particularly in the context of the US-China trade war.
Li mentioned, “Because the CCP does not abide by the international order, the US is sanctioning them,” clarifying that the free world is not against the Chinese people but the CCP’s authoritarian rule.
Li stated that the CCP equates the punishment from the free world to when Japan invaded China in the past, which is a distortion. He further explained that the CCP uses this narrative in the exam to manipulate the public and tie everyone together to resist the US.
He underlined, “The CCP’s current ‘main theme’ is to fight against the free world. It knows it must mobilize the entire nation to confront the free world. Therefore, it does not allow any dissenting voices that question the CCP.”
Regarding the five different sets of exam papers distributed regionally, Li considered it a form of “regional discrimination,” while Guo Yuxuan saw it as “systemic discrimination deliberately created by the CCP.”
Guo expressed that exam papers in major cities are simpler, providing more opportunities for students, while students in the central and western regions face more difficult questions with fewer resources, showcasing intentional resource allocation by the CCP and structural oppression towards lower-class groups to ensure the offspring of the CCP elite can smoothly enter top universities.
Li mentioned that for students in underdeveloped areas of higher education, it is incredibly challenging to excel and gain admission to top universities.
He asserted that while different regions have different exam papers formulated to cater to localized characteristics, in reality, under the CCP’s rule, this system protects an unjust practice, not promoting fairness.
Guo unabashedly stated, “The CCP has never aimed to achieve fair education, but rather to control social structures. Education is not a means to create equal opportunities for all but a tool to maintain the existing hierarchical system.”