China’s shaonian ban child prodigies struggle to cope with generation gaps among their university peers

Young Chinese are starting university earlier than ever before. Recent figures from Shanghai Jiao Tong University revealed that, in 2016, it has received 26 students born after December 2000. At Xi'an Jiaotong University, 128 students ranging from 15 to 17 have already completed their two-year university preparatory studies and begun their university life.

Ever since the Anhui Province-based University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) established its shaonian ban program, a special class for the gifted young, in 1978, the academic life of underage students has been a major focus among the Chinese public and media.

On the one hand, gifted, young students win applause for their high intelligence, but on the other hand, they themselves are worried that being younger than their peers might find them struggling socially.

The Global Times recently spoke with teachers and underage university students to find out the advantages and disadvantages of being a shaonian ban, and how it feels to be much younger than their peers.


A teenaged student finishes the second test of Xi'an Jiaotong University's shaonian ban program this February.

No pains, no gains

It was Tuesday morning and Xing Feifan, 17, a student from the shaonian ban program at Xi'an Jiaotong University, was taking lessons with his classmates. They had been learning The Tale of Genji, a classic work of Japanese literature, and were having discussions about the book. The atmosphere, compared with the average college course in China, was unusually active.

"The best feature of shaonian ban students is that they are quite active. Apart from studying, my classmates participate in many extracurricular activities like dancing and drawing," Xing said.

Liu Kejia, 17, a friend of Xing's, is also a member of the school's elite shaonian ban. After one year of preparatory studies at Nankai Middle School in Tianjin, this is already her second year at Xi'an Jiaotong University.

"I participated in this program because it can free me from both senior high school entrance exams and college entrance exams. We took our exams in the third year of junior high and, after passing the written exam, the school interviewed us. The year I took this exam, only 128 students out of about 2,000 were admitted."

Young as they are, they know better than their peers about what they are going to do in the future. "We have our second year's preparatory study at Xi'an Jiaotong University, which allows us to gain more information on each major from our seniors. Professors will also hold lectures introducing the basic facts of each major for us." Liu said.

In China, young students who excel in the academic realm are generally considered child prodigies, but when asked whether they consider themselves prodigious, they both denied it.

"I had been studying in a boarding school since primary school and my parents never set high expectations on me. During each period of my study, I have made great efforts. I am just pursuing my dream step by step," Xing said.

"I have to admit shaonian ban students are clever. They have stronger personalities because they are much more committed to their own ideas. Maybe a small fraction of us do have (social) problems due to our limited life experiences. But I totally disagree with those who describe us as eccentric. As for myself, I feel I am nothing special," Liu said.

Liu said the youngest student in her grade is only 15 years old. "Even I treat him as a child because some of his behaviors are particularly immature. But we are willing to play with him because most of the students are very understanding. I think he will grow up from his experiences here."


Teen students compete during the second test of Xi'an Jiaotong University's shaonian ban program this February. Photos: IC

More freedom, more pressure

Ju Bin, 23, who started university at the age of 16 and has economy and math bachelor's degrees from Nankai University in Tianjin, recently resigned from his first job. He is currently enjoying his free time by riding a bike from Beijing to Hangzhou.

Before he resigned, Ju worked at a prestigious insurance company; despite his age, his educational background helped him get hired and earn a good salary.

For most students with financial backgrounds, such a company might be their dream employer and never dare quit, yet Ju resigned because he found that he couldn't learn much from his job that he didn't already know.

He admitted that his age gave him the advantage to start over all again, but he confessed being younger also brings him distress. "Age is such a thing that as you get older, disparities will be evened out. Being younger than my counterparts brought me no trouble after I began my career, but sometimes made me feel distressed while I was a student," he said.

Ju said that even though he was able to have a good time with his university peers, he sometimes felt that he did not quite fit in due to the different way he understood the world. "Another trouble was that, as girls tend to pick guys who are at least at their age or older, when they refused me, they blamed it on my age. So maybe my behavior is really immature."

Even though scientists have identified that girls often mature faster than boys, Chen Chen, who received her bachelor's degree at Nankai University and celebrated her 16th birthday during her first semester of university life, admitted that she suffered from anxiety due to starting school early.

Scientific research shows that the mental difference between 5-year-olds and 6-year-olds is far greater than between 25-year-olds and 26-year-olds; Chen agrees.

"My ability to control my feelings was not that good. Before the college entrance exams, I was so nervous that I always wanted to go to the toilet while in fact I did not have that need. As a result, I failed to get into my dream school. My dad said the reason why I did not give my best performance was because I was so young that, in the face of big events, I could not regulate my feelings as well as my older peers," Chen said.

As Chen has never had the urge to be in a relationship, having little in common with her female peers in the university dorms was another social obstacle that the young girl faced.

"During my postgraduate studies, most of my peers turned 25 and had been in a relationship for many years or were about to get married. As girls enjoy talking about emotional affairs, I sometimes lacked common interests with them."

But Chen revealed that the benefits of being younger finally appeared after graduation. Compared to many of her work colleagues who had just graduated from university, she was already two master's degrees ahead of them, having participated in an exchange program at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Her rich experiences abroad helped her mentally prepare for a professional career.

"I think the advantages of starting school earlier are more obvious for girls. For one, no guy would refuse courting a young girl. And you won't be urged by your family to get married so young, so we have more time to pursue our dreams," Chen added.

Less judges, less criticism

The media are often keen on reporting young or talented students who don't do well socially, for example, the brilliant student named Ning Bo from USTC who famously chose to become a Buddhist monk after graduating.

Yet statistics released on the 30th anniversary of USTC's shaonian ban program show that among its 1,200 students, more than 80 percent have master degree, among them some are presently holding important or high-level positions in a variety of fields.

"Shaonian ban students are reluctant to be called 'child prodigy' because this title ignores their efforts. During my years of research, I have found that, despite their intelligence, how these students really differ from the common people are their high concentration abilities and commitment to completing tasks," Liu Chengke, a PhD student at USTC who majors in gifted education and psychology, said.

Recently, USTC chose to keep its shaonian ban students away from the media spotlight so as to allow them to enjoy university life.

"Most students say the training program of shaonian ban is more appropriate because regular schooling may bore them. So they chose an educational mode which suits them better," Xin Houwen, former vice president of USTC, said in an interview with DragonTV.

"But USTC cannot ensure every shaonian ban student will be cultivated into a great master, and no school can make this come true. It's normal for students to either become very successful or go on to lead an ordinary life."

Global Times, 2016-10-08, Source: http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1009998.shtml