If the earlier phrase "My life is finite" could be said to carry a bit of philosophical flavor, then the follow-up, "One who deems himself knowledgeable", falls squarely into the realm of true philosophy. Translated, it means "someone who thinks he knows," and that phrase alone places it among the greats.
When a sentence rises to the level of philosophy, it becomes a classic, an immortal line.
This kind of philosophical insight wouldn't be out of place even in the education of college students, graduate students, or even PhDs.
Yet ironically, this profound statement from a master thinker appeared in Youth Daily.
And even more fittingly, it was aimed squarely at those teenage writers.
Instant defeat.
Yes, you could say, just one sentence completely wiped out over a dozen writers.
What more needed to be said?
Just take a look at how the article responded:
"Those who attack me believe their views are correct. They believe they are smarter than others. But due to their limited knowledge, limited reasoning abilities, and limited capacity for verifying facts, they arrive at a different conclusion from mine, based on flawed understanding and faulty logic... This is the best summary of what it means to 'deem oneself knowledgeable.' With this one line, those writers' rebuttals became nothing more than a joke."
This wasn't even a fight on equal footing anymore.
One sentence was all it took to end the battle.
Reading this, Sun Zaian gasped in shock.
He had always known Fanchen was learned. He had always known Fanchen was a rare genius. But it wasn't until 'Exam-Oriented Education' was published that Sun Zaian truly understood the unfathomable depth of this master. Only then did he come to know what a true intellectual looked like.
...
"High scores, low ability."
When the latest issue featuring Huang Yifan's 'Exam-Oriented Education' hit the public, one of the young writers who had previously criticized him, Maple Leaf, was left stunned. Staring at those three words, "Exam-Oriented Education," Maple Leaf didn't know how to respond. He himself seemed to be exactly the kind of "high score, low ability" person the article described. Aside from getting good grades, what else could he do?
Picking up his pen, Maple Leaf tried to write a rebuttal to 'Exam-Oriented Education', but after half an hour, not a single word came out.
Helpless, he shook his head, sighed, and put the pen away.
...
"Deeming oneself knowledgeable, believing oneself omniscient."
"Believing oneself smarter than others."
"Had I always been this arrogant before?"
Zhong Yu was nearly knocked breathless by 'Exam-Oriented Education'.
Even now, after reading it, his head still felt heavy and his body light, like he was floating.
It was like getting a harsh scolding from an elder.
Zhong Yu felt deeply uncomfortable, yet had no idea how to refute it.
Are you really smarter than everyone else?
Are you really all-knowing?
Isn't your knowledge extremely limited?
That single blow nearly made Zhong Yu cough up blood. He felt like a boulder was pressing down on his chest.
That rock was heavy and suffocating; he could barely breathe.
Reading this article, he felt as though the author stood like a towering mountain.
And he, he was just a small pine tree at the foot of that mountain.
Every time the sun rose, all he could do was keep looking up, hoping to catch a glimpse of the peak.
But the mountain was too tall; no matter how he tried, he couldn't see the top.
To look up at greatness, that might be exactly what this feels like.
...
"Among three people, one is surely the teacher."
Reading that line, Li Luozhi couldn't help but smile wryly.
She had only wanted to advise Huang Yifan not to waste his talent.
But after reading that quote from 'Exam-Oriented Education', she couldn't help laughing at her own rebuttal.
Oh, Li Luozhi, did you really think Huang Yifan was arrogant and full of himself, like you were before?
Look at that line: "Among three people, one is my teacher." A person who can say that must be so humble, so cautious, how noble must their character be?
Thankfully, she hadn't said too much before.
If she had said more and then gotten overshadowed by this article, she probably wouldn't have recovered for half a year.
Truthfully, when she read this article, Li Luozhi froze. She felt as if she weren't facing Huang Yifan, but a great literary master. Every line he wrote was so philosophical, so irrefutable. No, no, it wasn't that she couldn't refute him. It was that she didn't dare to. Or maybe, she had completely lost the desire to argue.
The gap between them was far too vast. There was no point in debating at all.
Still, even as she smiled bitterly, Li Luozhi found herself feeling enlightened.
Though 'Exam-Oriented Education' instantly crushed all the authors who had attacked him, it also taught her many valuable lessons. Like the saying above, "deeming oneself knowledgeable", this arrogant mindset was deeply flawed. And it made Li Luozhi resolve to study harder. Not just school subjects, but also other types of knowledge that could be useful to her. Even if those things had no bearing on exams, if they helped expand her worldview or deepen her understanding, that would be enough.
Yes, Li Luozhi realized: maybe getting high scores doesn't mean anything at all.
Just like Huang Yifan had seemed so ordinary before, but at Tieshikou Middle School, who could compare to him now?
...
Huang Yifan, writing under the new pen name 'Qiushui', didn't just shock the young prodigies with 'Exam-Oriented Education'.
He also stunned students.
And their parents.
And teachers.
Even education experts and scholars.
When the full quote "My life has its limits" appeared, they too felt as if they had just been schooled by a great master.
This line wasn't just aimed at those young writers. It applied equally to the adults, the educators, and the so-called experts.
It made their faces flush with shame.
Looking back, had they never once been arrogant? Had they never thought of themselves as all-knowing?
Chances are, the more elite and specialized they were, the more prone they were to this kind of arrogance, to this "deeming oneself knowledgeable."
Always thinking they were right, always believing they knew everything, naturally, they couldn't achieve the higher mindset of "among three, one is my teacher." That line, too, left them feeling deeply ashamed. What "among three, one is my teacher"? In their daily lives, when did they ever act like that? More like: "among three, I am the teacher."
This habit of thinking they were right and others were wrong, until they read this article, they'd never even realized how foolish they were.
==========
Unlock up to 50 advanced chapters on Patreon!
patreon.com/Childish_Patriarch