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Witness History

The Exam That Changed China

Witness History

BBC

History, Personal Journals, Society & Culture

4.51.6K Ratings

🗓️ 20 December 2017

⏱️ 11 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

When Chinese universities reinstated entrance exams in December 1977 it was a sign that the Cultural Revolution was really over. For the previous decade students had been judged on their political fervour, rather than their academic abilities. Wu Yuwen, was one of the class of 1977 and she's been speaking to Michael Bristow about her student experiences. Photo: Wu Yuwen in 1978, during her first year at Peking University. Credit: Wu Yuwen

Transcript

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0:00.0

Choosing what to watch night after night the flicking through the endless

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BBC podcast gets underway here's something you may not know.

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My name's Linda Davies and I commission podcast for BBC Sounds.

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As you'd expect, at the BBC we make podcasts of the very highest quality featuring the most knowledgeable experts and genuinely

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And that's just a few examples.

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If you'd like to discover something a little bit unexpected, find your next podcast over at BBC Sounds.

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Coming soon, The Assassination, an investigation into a true story that shook the world.

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Thank you for downloading Witness, the History Podcasts from the BBC World Service with me, Michael Bristol.

1:27.2

In December 1977, China reintroduced university entrance exams, which had been abolished 11 years earlier at the start of the Cultural

1:35.1

Revolution. During that chaotic period the only students allowed to go to university were ones

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