A self-made millionaire in China is dominating global headlines; not because of his majestic business endeavours but because of his stubbornness to pass China’s most-dreaded “gaokao” college entrance exam. On June 7, Liang Shi took the exam for the 27th time.
Liang Shi always cherished the ambition to study at one of China’s most reputed top-tier universities, Sichuan University. To realise his ‘Sichaun dream, Shi needs to get passing marks in the gaokao entrance exam, which is taken by almost 13 million high school seniors every year.
Admission to Sichuan University comes with great perks for students, including more job opportunities, a settled career and a societal reputation. In a nutshell, the qualification in the gaokao exam can change one’s fate once and for all.
Who is Liang Shi?
Liang Shi is no ordinary man. The 56-year-old tycoon went on to become a successful construction materials businessman, after getting off to a humble beginning. But the fact that he could never get a college education always kept him anxious and made him feel incomplete. “I really want to go to university and become an intellectual,” Liang Shi was quoted as saying by AFP. “It’s an uncomfortable thought that I didn’t manage to get a college education,” he added.
Took the first test in 1983
Liang Shi was a 16-year-old student when he took the exam for the first time. He would keep trying his luck throughout the coming decade until he was forced to give up in 1992 due to age restrictions for single people.
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In what came as a god-sent opportunity for Shi, Chinese authorities quashed the age restrictions in 2001, paving the way for him to again hit the fray.
Since 2001, Liang has taken the exam a whopping 16 times. He has never missed a single exam since 2010, even when the deadly COVID-19 plague made lives miserable for Chinese people in 2020 and 2021.
A genuine effort or publicity stunt?
However, not everyone on the internet seems amazed by the unwavering campaign undertaken by the Chinese millionaire. Some believe it is hardly more than a publicity stunt.
“What for?” Liang responds.
“No one in their right mind would spend decades taking the gaokao for a stunt,” he says further. He also recalled how he had sacrificed the joys of his life just to materialise his genuine ambitions.
