Attitude important

For students sitting the national college entrance examination, which starts from today, they are at the crossroads of their life no matter how well they do.

China is a nation with a long tradition of holding in esteem education, higher education in particular. In ancient times, good education plus good scores in imperial examinations meant opening of the gate to the hierarchical ladder.

Beyond the pragmatic concerns was a social respect for intellectuals, who were believed to be more intelligent and knew better how to tackle life's problems.