Battle cries of examinees reflect reality

How do Chinese schools psych seniors up for gaokao, the all-important national college entrance examination that is held around this time every year? A number of slogans and mottoes doing the rounds in high schools have hit the Internet recently. And they are both amusing and disturbing.

The lighter ones encourage students to aim for top Chinese universities with a sense of humor: "Go to Tsinghua (University) to be young alumni of the president and premier", or "Today Beida (Peking University) is in my dream, tomorrow I'll dream in Beida". In a video that went viral on the Internet, students of a high school in Fujian chanted "May elder sisters be butterflies emerging from cocoons and elder brothers eagles soaring in the sky" in unison to wish seniors good luck in gaokao.

But many others have created controversies because they intend to exert extreme pressure on students to persevere through the ordeal of cramming, including "Why need to sleep so much? You can rest long after you die", "Never raise your head, be soundless (while studying)" and "You must go crazy first to be successful".