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Recently, Cai Yuandi, a teacher at the School of Humanities of Zhejiang University City College, publicly published an article titled "Explanation on the high failure rate of the three courses I am responsible for", which has attracted attention in the higher education circle.

The Paper noted that the article was published on his personal WeChat public account "Jiji Sanrenxing" on August 13. In the article, Cai Yuandi said that because the failure rate of the three courses he was responsible for, "Ancient Chinese", "Ancient Chinese Literature (I)" and "Chinese Classical Literature", was over 30%, he was asked to explain this problem and provide a rectification plan.

Cai Yuandi responded by saying, "First, so many papers failed because I didn't teach well and my level is limited. I'm really sorry. Second, the solution I came up with based on this logic is: please find someone else who can help you."

On the evening of August 13, Miao Zhe, dean of the School of Humanities at Zhejiang University City College, said in an interview with The Paper that he was currently communicating with Cai Yuandi on the matter.

The picture shows Cai Yuandi's personal profile page

In the above article, Cai Yuandi further questioned the class schedule of related courses: the total class schedule of "Ancient Chinese" in our school is 48 hours, the total class schedule of "Ancient Chinese Literature (I)" (content is the pre-Qin and Han Dynasty part) is 32 hours, and the total class schedule of "Chinese Classical Literature" is 32 hours. Please investigate other colleges and universities. How many schools have only this number of class hours for these three courses? If there are more than this, then how scientific is the teaching plan for the Chinese language and literature major in our school? Is it necessary to make major adjustments?

He said, "Of course I can lower the difficulty of the exam, and I can also reduce the amount of learning according to the established class hours. But what about the basic knowledge requirements of a course? When a student who graduates from us enters the workplace and faces the postgraduate entrance examination, what should I do if his knowledge of ancient Chinese and ancient literature is not up to standard, which affects his admission rate and employment rate? If some departments think that these don't need to be considered, then I can immediately ask students to recite Li Bai's "Quiet Night Thoughts" (20 points) in the next exam."

He added, "Based on my teaching experience over the years, a student who scored less than 40 points in a course after the first exam will score more than 60 points when retaking the course, especially before graduation. The difficulty of my exams has not been reduced, and I have not given any special consideration to students who are about to graduate."

In the article, Cai Yuandi also listed a fill-in-the-blank question he had given to evaluate the difficulty of the test paper: "Who are the protagonists of "The Peacock Flies Southeast"? " It is said that the error rate of this question is over 50%.

He emphasized, "My 'seriousness' in teaching is not my subjective will, but my nature. I have to do it. I am really a person who is very serious about everything (including 'scientific research'). People need dignity to live, and my 'seriousness' is just to protect my dignity."

“‘A scholar can be killed but not humiliated.’ ‘The general of an army can be deprived of its general, but the will of a common man cannot be taken away.’ If I myself do not believe in and follow these words of the sages, how can I call on future generations to follow their lead?” Cai Yuandi wrote in conclusion.

According to public information, Cai Yuandi was born in 1983 in Haining, Zhejiang Province. He holds a bachelor's degree in law from China University of Political Science and Law and a doctorate in literature from the Institute of Ancient Books of Zhejiang University. He currently teaches at the Department of Chinese Language and Literature, School of Humanities, Zhejiang University City College. He has won the first prize in the liberal arts group of the 11th Zhejiang University City College Young Teachers Teaching Competition and the title of "My Favorite Teacher" from the School of Humanities. He has published "A Study on "The Lost Bamboo Slips in the Quicksand"" (author), "A Collection of Poems by Xu Bangda" (compiled), etc.

In his resume published on the official website of the School of Humanities of Zhejiang University City College, Cai Yuandi described himself as "Growing up in the elegant land of Jiangnan, I studied in the generous land of Yanzhao. I followed the teachings of Shen and Han at first, and finally Confucius and Mencius. I once crossed the sea and admired Tian Heng's island; after several years of wandering, I finally lived by the West Lake. I am already 20 years old, and have accomplished nothing. I am unrestrained and proud in the forest, that's all."

An article titled "He likes to say shocking things, and pays more attention to teaching to build a strong fortress and fight to the death" published on the official website of Zhejiang University City College in September 2019 mentioned that "Cai Yuandi never pleases students. On the contrary, he is famous for his strictness towards students. The two courses he taught, "Ancient Chinese Literature" and "Ancient Chinese", are the hardest hit areas for students to "fail". When someone advised him to lower the difficulty of the test papers, he said: "Whether it is ancient literature or ancient Chinese, these courses have thresholds. To be honest, I think the difficulty of the test papers I set is not high. If it is lower, do I test students to have "moonlight in front of the bed"? "

The article said, "Cai Yuandi is strict but not rigid. The comment from the Analects of Confucius that 'he is solemn from a distance, but warm when approached' is very applicable to him. The first impression he gives to students is often that of a towering figure that makes people afraid to approach him. He doesn't add students on WeChat casually, or even leave his phone number. But once he gets to know a student, he treats them as a friend and never acts like a teacher."