The burning joss sticks fill the air with scented smoke at this Confucian Temple in Changchun as students flock to pay their respects to the teacher of all teachers and to pray for success ahead of the national college entrance exams scheduled for Thursday and Friday.

 

A huge tree outside the temple has wishing cards hanging off every branch and bit of bark, lending an overall red hue. The vast majority of them have emanated from students seeking to gain their dream university entrance offer.

 

"We receive nearly 500 students and parents a day from 6.30 AM onwards," said Wang Hongyuan, a manager of the temple.

 

A mother from Changchun said she hopes her pilgrimage would bring good luck to her son sitting the exam this year. She spent 300 yuan on meter-long joss sticks before attaching her card to the prayer tree and donating to the temple, asking the sage to repay her respect and faith.  will bring her son, a senior at high school, good luck. "I hope the sage will repay our respect and faith."

 

She says she spent 300 yuan (US$38.5), pasting her card on the pine tree and making a donation to the temple.

 

Confucian Temples, also known as Scholar Temples, are present across China, honoring the memory of Confucius (551 BC to 479 BC), the renowned philosopher and educator of ancient China also called the "teacher of all teachers". Thus, for centuries, Chinese believers have prayed to Confucius before an exam.

 

Despite government opposition to this "superstitious" tradition, Confucian Temples across China continue to see crowds flock to them in early summer.

 

The Ministry of Education said a record 10.1 million people would sit the exam this week, competing for just 5.67 million places at nationwide colleges and universities. This is a marked difference from when the exam was reintroduced in 1977 when 5.7 million candidates competed for only 270,000 places.

 

Despite easier access to higher education, the "little emperors" -- the snide nickname for the progeny of only-child families are still on the receiving end of massive pre-exam stress.

 

Two weeks ago, a distraught student killed himself with an overdose of sleeping pills in northwestern Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, despite having been called a top student by peers and teachers who all expected to see him breeze through the tests.  

 

Such cases have sparked another influx into the offices of counselors who are being consulted to help alleviate the stress burden on parents and students alike. This has led to another pilgrimage of sorts. Counseling services are crowded with parents and teenagers seeking advice on how to deal with pre-test anxiety. Some families have even hired domestic helpers -- often psychology majors or retired teachers -- who charge 3,000 to 4,000 yuan a month to provide counseling to students and cook their meals.

 

However, this move can backfire since these extra precautions increase pressure on students, afraid of disappointing their parents should their performances be anything less than stellar. 

 

The exam themselves can take many varied forms. Last year, candidates in Beijing were asked to write about "symbols of the city", with results ranging from the obvious like the Forbidden City and Great Wall to the inane such as traffic congestions and rising housing prices.

 

In Shanghai last year, many students were stumped at an exam question requiring them to write 1,000 words on human values, attitude toward life and getting along with others, a broad topic helmed by the headline "I want to hold your hand."

 

(Xinhua News Agency June 6, 2007)