The year 1978 was significant in modern Chinese history because that is when Deng Xiaoping initiated a series of major moves that led directly to the rise of China in the following four decades. One of those moves was to hold nationwide exams for entrance into graduate schools based only on merit. During the twelve years leading up to 1978, no graduate-level university entrance exams were conducted in China. This book is a collection of the memoirs of the former students who were successful in those exams and who were admitted to the Graduate School of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1978.
The oldest of these authors is seventeen years older than the youngest. Such a large age range among the same cohort of students is unusual, but it is a natural consequence of the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976). During these years, schools and universities in China were closed, so many of those who were successful in the nationwide exams held in 1978 had had their undergraduate education before or at the beginning of the Cultural Revolution.
The experiences recorded in this volume are as varied as the backgrounds and fields of endeavor of the authors. Some of these articles have been written by former students who had their subsequent careers in China, so they are giving readers a glimpse into the rise of China over the past forty years. Other memoirs in this volume were written by the very first Chinese students who went abroad for graduate study without government sponsorship. The trickle of students going overseas that began in 1980 later became a stream and has grown into a tide today. An explanation of the combined work of three key figures that helped to unleash this tide has also been included. The editors of this book are honored to include a succinct note by Mary Van de Water, who initiated this movement. Indeed, many Chinese students are in her debt.