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▲tang shangjun (right) goes through the admission procedures at the new student registration point of south china normal university

red star news reporter: chen qingyuan, li yuguo, zhao mu

editor: guo zhuang editor: feng lingling

"what does tsinghua (university) mean to you?" on the evening of august 31, tang shangjun was still asked this question. in a few hours he would take a train to south china normal university to attend college.

"i think tsinghua is actually the dream of many high school students, and maybe i am more persistent. to me, tsinghua may be a more vague concept, not a very real thing. it cannot be said that it is for the sake of faculty or reputation. it is just a dream that you have to realize and must do it." tang shangjun said.

tang shangjun, who took the college entrance examination for the 16th time this year, was admitted to china university of political science and law in 2016. in order to pay for his father's medical treatment, he chose to repeat the exam with a bonus of 100,000 yuan. for several years, his scores were getting higher and higher, and he seemed to be getting closer and closer to tsinghua university, but there was always a gap.

after being admitted several times and rejected once, tang shangjun chose to compromise - now, he has become a freshman and hopes to realize his dream by taking the postgraduate entrance examination.

"many people say that your life is legendary. if it were a drama, would you say it is a comedy or a tragedy?" a red star news reporter asked him. tang shangjun replied: "it's hard to define. it's not a comedy, nor a tragedy. it's probably a tv series, and it doesn't have a happy ending yet."

——1——

35-year-old freshman tang shangjun

when introducing himself, he hopes his classmates won't call him uncle.

tang shangjun was born in a small mountain village in shangsi county, fangchenggang city, guangxi. his sister and brother, like many other children in the village, left school early to work. a fellow villager near their village was admitted to tsinghua university. this fellow villager has done very well and helped fellow villagers build roads in the village, becoming a role model for the villagers to inspire their children. tang shangjun set this goal of being admitted to tsinghua university since elementary school, and it has become his obsession.

after tang shangjun took the college entrance examination for the 16th time this year, he finally decided to go to university in guangzhou, a first-tier city.

tang shangjun ended his part-time job early in the summer and returned to his hometown to help his mother with farm work. his mother was the last person in the family to know that tang shangjun was going to college. she mentioned to tang shangjun at the dinner table that other people's children who were admitted to college would hold a graduation banquet. tang shangjun said that he "didn't have the face to hold a graduation banquet." his mother, with pale hair, did not blame him, but smiled and said: "you are so old, and you have studied for decades. hahaha, if you were younger, i would have invited people to the wedding."

▲tang shangjun took a photo at south china normal university

netizens left messages under tang shangjun's self-media account. some netizens said that tang shangjun took the college entrance examination so many times, gave up xiamen university, shanghai jiaotong university, china university of political science and law and other universities, and finally went to south china normal university: "brother jun, are you really willing?" some netizens expressed their congratulations, believing that tang shangjun bravely started a new life and had a promising future. some netizens said that before clicking on the video, they thought tang shangjun was going to announce that he would continue to repeat his studies. some netizens said why tang shangjun still looked like a high school student in his 30s, while they were fat and bald in their thirties. some netizens also said that they had graduated from college for many years and were not doing well now, and they envied tang shangjun for catching up with the self-media era...

before entering school, tang shangjun applied for a student loan and purchased daily necessities, all of which were put into a suitcase that he had used for nearly 10 years. media reporters from different provinces came to his hometown before tang shangjun left for school. the reporters followed tang shangjun over several hills and came to the fields to plant eucalyptus seedlings, hoping that the seedlings would grow up and become usable timber in a few years.

before leaving, tang shangjun went to his father's grave to burn incense.

on september 1, tang shangjun boarded a train from nanning to guangzhou, as recorded by fellow media reporters. tang shangjun also took photos and recorded the scenery along the way. he said, "it's a new beginning, and i feel at ease."

as soon as i arrived at the high-speed railway station in guangzhou, someone recognized tang shangjun and said that they had just seen his video in the morning. at the university town campus of south china normal university, many local media and students from guangzhou were waiting near the school entrance. tang shangjun was like a star, surrounded by people wherever he went and became the focus of the camera.

on the way, some students and parents recognized tang shangjun. some watched the fun, while others laughed at him. students who took photos with tang shangjun were too embarrassed to call him "junior" and only said that they were older than him. would anyone around them joke about "grade" or "age"? some clubs took the initiative to invite tang shangjun to join.

tang shangjun said that he would rather register for school like an ordinary college student. now, the huge attention will make his every word and action in college be magnified. the camera recorded the whole process of his registration.

when he introduced himself to the whole class, he said that he hoped that his classmates would not call him uncle, but call him brother tang or brother jun. this was filmed and quickly made headlines. the camera also recorded his first mark in college - leaving his name "tang shangjun" on the college's signature wall.

——2——

tsinghua dream is still there

when i decided to go to college, i also decided to go to graduate school.

"what do you hope the three words 'tang shangjun' will represent in the future?" a reporter asked.

tang shangjun replied: "if it can really represent something, i hope it represents the pursuit of dreams."

tang shangjun's dream-chasing journey was like falling into a whirlpool, and he took many detours, but his dream of studying at tsinghua university has not been shattered. he decided to study for a master's degree at the same time as he was going to college.

tang shangjun now thinks that if someone had given him guidance when he was in high school, he might have been admitted to university much earlier. at that time, he had a vague concept of university and didn't know that he could realize his dream by taking the postgraduate entrance examination.

in the 2010 college entrance examination, tang shangjun was admitted to a technical college. he took the tuition and living expenses given by his family and kept it a secret from his family. at that time, he did not think too much, but just felt that going to a good university would make his life relatively complete, and being able to study in a big city would change the trajectory of his life.

in 2013, tang shangjun was admitted to a key university. during the summer vacation of that year, he took a train to beijing and saw the freshmen of tsinghua university undergoing military training. he hoped to come here for military training in the future.

in january 2014, tang shangjun said by the river in his hometown: "i found that i had taken the wrong path and should not have looked back so much. really, people still have many ways to go. at that time, i really wanted to be admitted to that university (tsinghua university)."

in 2016, tang shangjun scored 625 points and was admitted to china university of political science and law. in the documentary "high school 10", he was not very happy when he learned about his admission. he decided to confess to his family. at the hospital bedside, he showed the admission letter to his father, because his father had been diagnosed with advanced lung cancer and might only have a few months left to live. his parents mostly encouraged tang shangjun and rarely blamed him. that year, tang shangjun came to beijing with his parents.

▲the campus club invited tang shangjun to join

at the beginning of the school year, tang shangjun went to china university of political science and law for a stroll, and then returned to guangxi to repeat his studies. his father was seriously ill and needed money for treatment, so tang shangjun, as a high-scoring repeater, received a bonus of 100,000 yuan. when he recalls his past repeating career, he still feels no regrets, but looking back at some points, he thinks that "he could have gotten out of the cycle earlier."

after becoming a high-scoring repeater, some schools gave tang shangjun bonuses and a separate dormitory. he calculated that he has received a total of about 300,000 yuan in bonuses so far. in recent years, he has been like a floating duckweed, going to many repeat schools and being admitted by one prestigious school after another, but he still chose to repeat. "i still have a dream in my heart. after my score reached 600 points, i felt that i was getting closer and closer to my goal."

after the broadcast of "high school 10", rumors began to spread online that tang shangjun was not attending college but repeating a grade. later, some media interviewed tang shangjun, and tang shangjun also opened a self-media account. at that time, his self-media account was mostly updated during the summer vacation after the college entrance examination, and he had more contact with the public.

tang shangjun entered the public eye with the documentary "high school 10", and has been on the hot search list several times in recent years. later, the university major also became tang shangjun's "obsession". tang shangjun himself also had age anxiety. he was over 30 years old, and his mother kept urging him to get married and start a career. his brothers and sisters all advised him to go to college early. he also knew that the college entrance examination was not the only way to go to an ideal university.

in 2022, tang shangjun was admitted to the school of nursing, school of medicine, shanghai jiao tong university. at that time, tang shangjun went back to repeat the year because he did not like the major he was admitted to. his sister cried and asked tang shangjun: "you got into such a good university, why don't you go?"

in 2023, tang shangjun scored 594 points in the college entrance examination, and three of the four college entrance examination volunteers he announced were normal colleges. at that time, guangxi's college entrance examination would undergo a new reform in 2024, and tang shangjun originally planned to "compromise" and go to college after the college entrance examination. however, because he did not choose to obey the professional adjustment, he was rejected by central china normal university, which was the first time he was rejected in many years.

in 2024, tang shangjun scored 601 points, "not very satisfied, with regrets". this time, he chose to obey the major adjustment and was admitted to south china normal university, and was adjusted to the information engineering major. he decided to end his long high school life and go to university, "even if i am unwilling, the regrets left can be slowly made up in college". tang shangjun became a freshman.

——3——

it is unlikely that you will go back to repeat the course.

live streaming is not considered yet

even as a freshman, tang shangjun was often asked: "will you go back to repeat your studies?"

he replied: "i decided to get a job a few years ago." he had been determined to study in a teacher training program, but he was rejected because he did not obey the adjustment and his score was not high enough. although the results in 2024 were not ideal, he felt regretful and had to accept it slowly: he was already 35 years old and felt a sense of urgency. he could not afford to waste time and had to consider family factors. it takes 4 years to study in college. if he goes on to graduate school, he will be 39 years old or older. the possibility of going back to repeat the year is not great. he has been stuck in this quagmire for too long. what the outside world thinks of him is not the point.

▲tang shangjun signs on the freshman signature wall

tang shangjun mentioned that he applied for a student loan, and after deducting tuition fees, he would have several thousand yuan left for living expenses. in addition, he had some savings, and every chinese new year he would give his mother one or two thousand yuan to show his filial piety. his self-media account will continue to update some videos recording college life, but he has not yet considered live streaming to sell goods. as for employment after graduation, he has always considered starting a business.

tang shangjun's behavior has also gained some understanding. a reporter said to tang shangjun: "in the beginning, i didn't really understand. but the experience of planting trees with you gave me a new answer and made me suddenly enlightened. your family environment and your hometown in a remote location are not very good in terms of economy and transportation. we climbed over several hills in a row, and you and your mother were still walking briskly... i could see your calmness, and i understood you from that moment on. i think you are a very down-to-earth person, and i also understand why you said you wanted to choose to go to college to change your destiny."

tang shangjun is still vague about his university plans. he has thought about taking the level 6 exam and also wants to fulfill his dream by taking the postgraduate entrance exam. a reporter asked him if he would continue to take the postgraduate entrance exam if he failed once.

"maybe i will try two or three more times." tang shangjun said that if his life was a script, he hoped to realize his dream by taking the postgraduate entrance examination, "that might be a happy ending."

red star news reporter chen qingyuan, li yuguo and zhao mu