Chapter 22 of 100
Chapter 22: The Wound of Zhongyong
16 min read3,950 words
If the principal of Lushan School were a person from the future, his first reaction after seeing the test paper Fang Mingyuan had completed would undoubtedly be to exclaim, "Damn!"
The test paper he had taken out was not the third-grade test that Fang Mingyuan had expected, but a fifth-grade test from the previous year. In 1983, primary education was still a five-year system, which meant that if one could pass this test, it would indicate that one's primary school mathematics education was already complete.
"92 points!" Principal Lushan was somewhat incredulous. Fang Mingyuan had completed the test in about twenty minutes and had scored 92 points. The eight points deducted were not due to lack of knowledge but rather carelessness. This result made Principal Lushan look at Fang Mingyuan with a newfound appreciation. For a child who could score high on a fifth-grade graduation test, the second-grade midterm exam was indeed too simple, and it was no wonder he had written the answers directly.
In fact, Principal Lushan had made another mistake. The eight points Fang Mingyuan had lost were not due to carelessness but were intentional—knowing the saying "the first to stand out gets shot," he had deliberately made some mistakes. However, Fang Mingyuan had not expected that the old man would not give him a third-grade test but a fifth-grade test. For someone who had attended university, the difficulty of a fifth-grade test was no different from that of a third-grade test!
"Do this one too!" Principal Lushan threw another test paper, this time a Chinese one.
Fang Mingyuan hesitated slightly, and Principal Lushan's face darkened. "Fang Mingyuan, you did well on the previous test, which proves that you deserve the perfect score in mathematics. I will inform Teacher Yan Dongyu to change your score to 100. However, disrupting the school's teaching order and arguing with the teacher are unacceptable. For this, it is also appropriate to inform your parents."
"Principal, as the ancients said, a teacher is one who imparts knowledge and resolves doubts. If a teacher is one who imparts knowledge and resolves doubts, why can't they tolerate a student's questions?" Fang Mingyuan was a bit anxious. The old man was clearly settling old scores for his earlier request. "What is resolving doubts? If a student does not raise questions, how can a teacher resolve them? The ancients said, 'Preventing the people from speaking is more dangerous than preventing a river from flowing. When a river is blocked, it will eventually burst, causing great harm. The same is true for the people. Therefore, those who manage rivers should ensure they flow, and those who manage the people should encourage them to speak.' If the ancients understood this, how can teachers today not understand it?"
Principal Lushan was even more surprised. Although he knew that many children today could recite ancient poems, and some could even recite Zhuge Liang's 'Chapters of the Expedition,' reciting them did not prove that they understood the meanings of these ancient poems and texts. However, Fang Mingyuan could cite classical texts to support his arguments, which made Principal Lushan feel a fresh perspective.
"Fang Mingyuan, since you know that a teacher is one who imparts knowledge and resolves doubts, you should also know that 'a day as a teacher, a lifetime as a father.' If you were facing your father today, would you also be so disrespectful?" Principal Lushan was even more interested and deliberately played the devil's advocate.
"Principal, the ancient Greek scholar Aristotle once said, 'I love my teacher, but I love truth more!' Therefore, a student does not have to be inferior to the teacher, and a teacher does not have to be more virtuous than the student. Each has their own expertise and understanding of the truth!" Fang Mingyuan said stubbornly. "Moreover, you should not confuse the ancient concept of a teacher with today's teachers. In ancient times, a master would impart all their skills to their disciples, even considering them as successors to their career. Their wealth, connections, and even status could be inherited by their disciples. In many ways, the master and disciple shared a relationship of mutual prosperity and adversity. They usually had no more than a dozen disciples. Today's teachers, however, should be seen more as a profession. We should respect teachers, but you cannot excessively elevate their status. According to the current education system, a person will have dozens, even hundreds, of teachers in their lifetime. Are we supposed to treat all of them as 'a day as a teacher, a lifetime as a father'?"
Finally, Fang Mingyuan muttered softly, "I can't support so many fathers! I'm sure Teacher Yan Dongyu's children wouldn't want someone to compete for his inheritance in the future!"
Fang Mingyuan's last words made Principal Lushan laugh. This kid had a lot of unconventional ideas, but Lushan liked it!
As the principal of the school, he naturally knew that many teachers today held the idea of 'a day as a teacher, a lifetime as a father,' believing that students should unconditionally obey the teacher's commands. Once a student questioned their behavior, they considered it a grave offense and suppressed it heavily. Only the obedient students were favored. This practice made him feel very bad, but he had no better way to stop it. Fang Mingyuan's arguments, though somewhat absurd, hit the core of the issue—many people only saw the authority of being a father in 'a day as a teacher, a lifetime as a father' but forgot the responsibility. Since they did not bear the responsibility of a father, how could they claim the authority?
"Fang Mingyuan, you don't have to write the essay. If you can score 45 out of 60 in the first part, I will pretend that nothing happened today, and Teacher Yan Dongyu will not bother you anymore. How about that?" Principal Lushan offered a carrot. "And I can make things easier for you in the future. Is that acceptable?"
Fang Mingyuan looked doubtful and thought for a moment. "All the trouble today will be resolved? Teacher Yan won't settle old scores?" Principal Lushan nodded affirmatively.
"Old fox!" Fang Mingyuan thought to himself. It seemed he had no choice but to complete the test. Being a child was really hard!
Fang Mingyuan once again surprised Principal Lushan. Excluding the essay score, Fang Mingyuan scored 57 out of 60, meaning that if he could score 3 points on the essay, he would meet the graduation standard for primary school Chinese.
"Fang Mingyuan, have you ever thought about skipping grades?" Principal Lushan said with a broad smile.
"Why?" Fang Mingyuan asked cautiously, sensing that he might have overlooked something, giving the old fox a chance to catch him.
"These are two fifth-grade graduation test papers. I must congratulate you; with your current scores, you are already qualified to enter middle school!" Principal Lushan revealed the secret with a smile.
"Ah?" Fang Mingyuan was taken aback.
Seeing Fang Mingyuan's surprised expression, Principal Lushan felt a great sense of satisfaction. In the past few minutes, he had been numbed by this kid, and it was finally his turn to see the kid surprised.
Fang Mingyuan was furious. How could he have been so careless as to not realize that the old man would give him a graduation test? No wonder he felt some of the articles in the Chinese test seemed beyond the third-grade level.
"I won't go!" Fang Mingyuan said through gritted teeth. However, saying it was easy, but doing it would be difficult. Once the school informed his family, how could he convince them to let him stay in primary school for a few more years? Maybe he would have to talk to his grandfather again.
"Can you give me a reason to refuse skipping grades?" Principal Lushan asked curiously.
"The ancients said, 'A tree that stands out in the forest will be broken by the wind; a pile that rises above the shore will be washed away by the current; a person who stands out will be criticized by others!'" Fang Mingyuan said bitterly. "As the saying goes, 'The first to stand out gets shot!'" Principal Lushan was speechless for a moment.
Fang Mingyuan jumped off the chair and walked towards the door. "More importantly, I don't want to become another Zhongyong!"
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