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the advantage of being a teacher is that there is a teachers' day every year. since it is a holiday, it is customary to give out gifts or bonuses. don't ask me how much it is; it won't be so much that you'll look forward to next year's holiday, but it won't be so little that you'll feel fooled.

in fact, chinese confucian culture has a tradition of respecting teachers and valuing education, at least verbally. don’t you see, the most respected people in confucianism are “heaven, earth, the emperor, parents, and teachers”?although the teacher is ranked last, he is the only one among the five who is respected for his profession, which has nothing to do with power or blood relationship.

there are usually two reasons why a profession is respected: noble and poor. the nobleness of a teacher lies in educating and passing on the fire of civilization; a good teacher can really change the life of a student. however, in terms of nobility, doctors are no worse than teachers, after all, they save the dying and the wounded, "saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda." but doctors cannot enter the five statues because they are not poor enough.

teachers in traditional private schools had a very hard life. xia yizun, a scholar in the republic of china, taught for many years and wrote a couplet: "it is better to die early; don't be a teacher." another couplet says: "it is better to die early than to be a teacher because of a miserable life; my family is poor and i have no choice but to be a teacher" (zheng yimei's "leaves from the art forest"). he became a teacher because of his poor family, and he remained poor because of being a teacher, and the cycle continued.

in the old days, most basic education was completed in private schools. parents of students needed to pay a certain amount of apprenticeship and tuition to the private school teachers, which was called "shuxiu", which was derived from bundles of dried meat. unless the private school teacher was a well-known master or scholar, the income of the private school teacher was quite meager. the private school teacher also took turns to eat at the students' homes, which was considered part of the remuneration. the quality of the food depended on the students' family conditions and the parents' respect for the teacher. it was not up to the students to decide whether the food was rich or poor.

today, except for the difficult situation of private primary and secondary school teachers in rural areas, teachers are generally no longer poor and will no longer have to worry about not having enough food to eat. moreover, primary and secondary school teachers have become a very powerful class in many cities, and parents are scrambling to curry favor with them, fearing that their children will be left out and marginalized. it is said that as soon as the more snobbish teachers take over a class, they will conduct a thorough investigation of the backgrounds of the students' parents to see if there are any resources that can be used. the rent-seeking behavior of a few teachers has brought disgrace to this profession, which should have been noble. it is a pity.

01

interesting anecdotes about teachers and students in history

for students, the most fortunate thing is to be able to study under a famous teacher, receive instruction and benefit from it for life.but teachers and students are all human beings, and they will change. over time, it is inevitable that the relationship between teachers and students will change. sometimes, there will be disagreements, and even a decisive severance of relations.

in august 1926, zhou zuoren published an article with a title in quotation marks, "thanking my teacher". he did not publish this article to thank his teacher zhang taiyan, but to sever ties with his teacher. you know, zhou zuoren had been with zhang taiyan for 18 years, and they still had a deep mutual recognition and appreciation. "although some ancient philosophers have been my mentors, the only one who has really taught me and inspired my thoughts and can be called my teacher is you."

why did he break off his friendship with his teacher for no reason? it was probably because "the teacher liked to engage in political activities that were not very brilliant" and "he thought that politics was his specialty and that learning and literature were just pastimes when he was frustrated." of course, when falling out with a teacher, one must put the blame on the teacher: "since the teacher is about to leave his study and go to the court, even an old disciple has no power to stop him. as for empty criticism, it is useless and there is no need to do so." zhou zuoren's words of breaking off the friendship left no room for retreat: "whatever the teacher says from now on has nothing to do with me. i only dare to give you some advice as a parting gift to express my heartfelt advice: the teacher is old and has not many days left. i hope you will cherish your reputation."

i don't know what zhang taiyan felt when he read this article. he must have been angry to some extent, and perhaps disappointed, but he shouldn't have been surprised, because zhou zuoren was just copying his teacher's old homework. zhang taiyan also wrote an article titled "thanking my teacher" to sever ties with his teacher yu yue (also known as quyuan jushi). the teacher-student feud actually has a master-disciple relationship. whether it is a teacher or a student, it is a bit unusual when you look closely. unfortunately, fate played tricks on people. zhang taiyan did not do anything too unworthy in his later years. instead, it was zhou zuoren who waded into the muddy waters of cultural traitors and lost his integrity in his later years.

by the way, zhou zuoren and the ancient chinese calligraphy master huang kan (zi jigang) were both students of zhang taiyan and taught at the chinese department of peking university, but the two had never met. both of them enjoyed great fame, but they deliberately avoided each other, which shows how strong their personalities were.

in addition to falling out, the teacher-student relationship in the republic of china era also had many actions worth recalling. zhou weiqiang's "old words from the learning world" and "new words from the learning world" collected many interesting stories.

the teacher is the founder of the field and a recognized master in the academic community. should students bow down to him and obey him? this was not necessarily the case in the academic community of the republic of china. speaking of masters, jin yuelin is well-deserved, and shen youding is his disciple. it is said that once jin yuelin talked about a new monograph on mathematical logic, shen youding stood up and said, "you can't understand this book." you should know that jin yuelin is the most famous logician in china with a solid foundation. but after listening to shen's words, he just said "hmm", and did not take it as an offense, and did not feel embarrassed.in fact, embarrassing someone in person is much nobler than disparaging the teacher behind his/her back. it just requires the listener to be magnanimous, which is not easy.

what's worse, students even righteously drove the teacher off the stage. historian li wosheng (xiyu) studied in the chinese department of peking university in the 1920s. there was a lecturer who taught chinese history but his level was not good enough. one day, after the teacher had been speaking for more than ten minutes, li suddenly walked up to the podium, bowed deeply, and said:“i hope the teacher will resign today, go home and study for ten years before coming back to teach, because so-and-so and so-and-so are all wrong. this teacher also has a high style. after class, without saying a word, he sent a note to the academic affairs department to convey his resignation to the principal and left. "both sides discussed the matter:the student convinced others with reason, and the teacher was upright and honest, both teachers and students have the remnant of wei and jin styles.

having picky students in class and in the audience is both a pressure and a motivation for teachers.when he was young, the philologist zhu qifeng mistakenly changed the "首施两大" used in his students' textbooks to "首鼠两大". he naturally thought that "首施" was a typo. little did he know that "首施" was used in the "book of han", and was "scolded" by his students. zhu then made a great ambition to write a great dictionary, and thus "ci tong" was published.

when dealing with people face to face, not only should the person being targeted be magnanimous, but the audience should also treat it with a normal attitude. in the early 1950s, wang zhuxi (who had taught yang zhenning at southwest associated university) who had returned from studying in the uk, came to shandong university to give lectures. halfway through the lecture, shu xingbei walked to the stage and said: i need to interrupt, because i think mr. wang’s report is full of errors, and he did not understand the essence of thermodynamics. shu picked up the chalk, crossed out the formulas and concepts that wang zhuxi had written all over the blackboard, and explained where the mistakes were. he spoke for about 40 minutes in one breath. wang zhuxi stood aside awkwardly the whole time. afterwards, the school leaders talked to shu xingbei, and they seemed to be complaining, but shu xingbei said frankly that universities used to be like this.

i guess that even universities in the republic of china would still give some face to visiting big-name professors. only a scholar like shu xingbei would have the courage to leave the guest aside and take over the show, speaking for 40 minutes. first, he is really knowledgeable and confident, and he would feel sorry for the audience if he didn't speak out; second, he really doesn't understand the ways of the world. we have been immersed in the ways of the world for too long, and our sharpness has been lost. even if we think someone is wrong, we will express our opinions in a polite and tactful way, and try not to spoil the other person's interest. the so-called moral decline of the world, this is also a kind of it, right?

02

my journey as a teacher

i graduated from university in 1982 and was assigned to the accounting department of shanghai institute of finance and economics (now upgraded to shanghai university of finance and economics) as a teacher. at that time, it was a graduation assignment, and i had no choice. i had to go whether i liked it or not. fortunately, looking back, i have to say that being a teacher is probably the most suitable career for me. because i have low social survival ability, i am timid and afraid of things, and i like to fantasize and talk nonsense. who else would tolerate you except the school?

i have been teaching for 42 years now. it is incredible how time flies. i still remember the first time i walked into the accounting department to report. the head of the department, professor lou erxing, received me. he was a master's student in the united states, a great scholar, a real gentleman, and his knowledge and insights were outstanding. but the first sentence he said to welcome me surprised me: welcome to join the accounting department, because with the arrival of the two of you (and one more person who reported at the same time), the average age of our accounting department teachers has dropped to nearly 60 years old! this shows the extent of the age gap among university teachers at that time.because of the fault, our generation has been given an excellent opportunity to exercise, no matter if you are a mediocre student or a brilliant one, you have to persevere in the classroom. looking back, sometimes i find it hard to imagine that a mediocre person like me could survive in college for decades, sometimes smoothly and sometimes struggling.

i didn't teach at shanghai university of finance and economics for long. after a few years, i went abroad for further studies, then to graduate school, and then to canada, first as a visitor, and then to study for a doctorate. there was an indian buddy studying for a doctorate with me. we both had families and felt that it was not easy to live on scholarships, so we went to the department head to ask for a higher salary. the department head could not give us a scholarship, but he could arrange classes for us.

when i heard that i was going to teach local students, i was confused: how could i possibly last two hours in a classroom with my poor english? the indian guy was also confused. his english was fine, but his financial accounting knowledge was at best entry-level. now you know what it means to learn from others’ strengths and make up for your weaknesses: i first explain it to him, and he corrects my obvious language mistakes; then i ask him questions and tell him the correct answers.

after several exchanges, i found that his life was much harder than mine. when i walked up to the podium, students saw my face and were fully prepared for the bad english that was about to come. on the other hand, he had to pretend to be confident at all times and not show any weakness in his profession. when he encountered a question that was difficult to answer, he had to pretend to be deep and let the students think about it first, saying that he would tell you the answer in the next class.

with my poor english at that time (it may be a little better now, but not much better), i was able to maintain the basic dignity of a teacher in a foreign classroom. to put it in a broader sense, i "did not bring shame to the chinese people". the main reason was my thick skin. although the process was painful, it was a great training for me.

after completing my phd, i went to teach in hong kong. although hong kong was still under british colonial rule at the time, it was chinese territory after all, so i felt a little more confident. moreover, hong kong students were relatively dull, rarely asking sharp questions in class or challenging the teacher's lectures. with less teaching pressure, my energy was mainly transferred to research (or more accurately, publication), which is the key to whether you can get a permanent teaching position at a university.

the tendency of mainstream universities to focus on research and neglect teaching has been criticized by many people. on the one hand, the main business of universities is to educate people, and neglecting education will fail the expectations of the public. on the other hand, universities have the responsibility to expand human knowledge and explore the unknown world, all of which are highly dependent on research findings. moreover,good research will enrich classroom lectures, complementing and enhancing each other.unfortunately, many studies nowadays have no practical significance and are published for the sake of publication, becoming pure intellectual games and brain-burning games.

03

on examinations and grades

i came to shanghai in 2010 and joined ceibs. the teaching in the business school is very different from the universities i have worked in before. in the general undergraduate education system, students care about grades and degrees, because they need to use these as a stepping stone to win the favor and recognition of the recruiting schools or employers.

i always told my students that when you go out to apply for schools or find jobs, others don’t know whether you are good enough or not, so you can only rely on the judgment of others, and your academic performance is the judgment you get. individual teachers may have deviations in their grading, but the average score given by so many teachers can usually reflect the student’s ability and degree of hard work. therefore, students must pay attention to their grades, unless you have other means to prove it, such as mathematical olympiads, physics competitions, creative inventions, or strong connections, etc.

because students care about grades, teachers who decide grades have important power. to a certain extent, setting test questions and marking test papers are manifestations of teachers' power.the examination process is a game between teachers and students.

after the victory of the anti-japanese war, liang sicheng taught the course "history of chinese architecture" at peking university. at the end of the semester, mr. liang said, "the course is over. can you tell me how to test us?" there were nearly 20 people listening to the lecture, but no one answered. mr. liang seemed to have suddenly realized something, so he said, "then let's see how many people have chosen the course. please raise your hands if you have chosen the course." no one raised their hands. liang smiled and said, "so you are all auditors. thank you for your support." as he said this, he bowed to the audience. (zhou weiqiang, "xue lin xin yu") the teacher actually asked for students' opinions before setting the test questions. we can't learn this kind of demeanor, and we dare not learn it.

people who are not teachers always think that setting test questions is an easy and casual thing. in fact, it is not easy to set good test questions. good test questions should not only ensure that most people can pass the test, but also ensure that the scores are reasonably distributed and that the gap between students of different levels is widened.a good test question should be unexpected yet reasonable, and preferably one that people will talk about with great interest.

some foreign universities put all the exam questions of previous years on the internet for anyone to check and comment on. your exam questions must withstand the scrutiny and analysis of peers and students with various purposes; you cannot repeat previous exam questions or even the ideas of the questions, and you cannot plagiarize the questions that others have asked. that is really a battle of wits and courage! after a teacher finished the exam questions, the teaching assistant carefully reminded him: this exam paper is exactly the same as last year. the teacher said nonchalantly that the questions are the same, but the answers are different. if you encounter such a teacher, students can only wish for the best.

when i was studying for my doctorate, i had to take a comprehensive exam before entering the thesis stage. the exam was arranged to be closed-book and completed in one day. i entered the exam room at 9 am and finished at 5 pm. although it was hard and stressful, i completely relaxed after a tiring day.

another student's exam was open book and take-home. the exam papers were collected at 9am on friday and handed in at 9am on monday. that student thought it was easier than mine, but it was actually painful. he was working on it and thought he was done, so he lay down to rest for a while. as soon as he lay down, he jumped up: no! since i was given three days, i must have expected the answer to be completed in three days. as a result, i basically didn't sleep in the first two days. therefore, teachers like me who think they are quite kind arrange closed book exams that must be completed on the spot, and after the exam, we owe each other nothing.

after taking the test, the examinee thought he had passed, but the result was a failing grade. the examinee must have felt very upset. in fact, the teacher does not necessarily want anyone to fail. if someone fails, the teacher will issue a make-up test paper and deal with students who come to check the score. he will ask every point why the points were deducted, especially if it is related to whether the average score can allow him to graduate or get a certain honor. if it is a calculation or proof question, the explanation is relatively simple. if unfortunately it is a discussion or analysis question, it is not easy to fully explain the reason for every point deduction. the most frustrating thing is that he also brought a classmate's test paper and asked why the classmate did not lose points when the two gave very similar answers?

when i was studying for my doctorate, i took a course in financial research and got a b+ on the exam. as an accounting student, getting a b+ across disciplines is pretty good. unexpectedly, i met the professor of this course, and he said to me: you did well on the exam. i was hesitating whether to give you an a- or a b+. after thinking about it, i decided to give you a b+. this is a very good grade. imagine how grateful i would be if he said he chose to give me a b+ between b+ and b! this is what happens when a professor has been in a position for a long time, and he is out of touch with the world and doesn't care about other people's feelings.

of course, teachers can’t be too reasonable, because every student who didn’t do well in the exam will find a reason to make you sympathize with him. when i was in canada, a student who failed the exam came to me to complain. he was lebanese, and it was said that he was kidnapped at gunpoint when he returned to his country to visit his family. he was held for many days before being released. when he talked about the fear he felt at the time, he was in tears, but i didn’t think he looked like someone who had escaped from the hands of kidnappers.

04

teaching at a business school

business school students are mainly working entrepreneurs and managers. they don’t care much about grades and don’t need a stepping stone. what they need is ideological enlightenment and intellectual collision. for teachers, it is easy to give grades, but it is too difficult to give ideological enlightenment and give people a shock. it can be said thatteaching in a business school is a brand new challenge and experience, which forces us to keep learning and improving.

when i was teaching at city university of hong kong, what inspired me most was the president’s advice:remember that two-thirds of our students are the first in their families to attend college, so please treat them with kindness, encouragement and motivation.in ordinary universities, teachers usually give more than they receive from a knowledge perspective. but in business schools, especially in places like ceibs where a large number of outstanding corporate managers gather,what goes on in the classroom every moment is never one-way output and reception, but confrontation and challenge.i think this is the biggest benefit for business school teachers (of course, a decent income is also important, especially for someone like me who is not so noble).

at the beginning, i said that teachers are respected because of their noble character and poverty. in my current state, i can no longer be labeled as poor (thank god), and the only thing left to pursue is to maintain my noble character. for someone like me who is born with deficiencies and lazy after birth, there are only two ways to maintain my noble character: work hard every day, or lower the noble standards. with my character, which way do you think i will take?

professor profile

su xijia is an honorary retired professor of china europe international business school. before becoming a professor of accounting at ceibs, he was the deputy director and associate professor of the department of accounting at the school of business, city university of hong kong.

professor su xijia graduated from concordia university in montreal, canada with a doctorate in management. he received a bachelor's degree and a master's degree in economics from xiamen university in 1982 and 1987 respectively. professor su is mainly engaged in research in international accounting, auditing, corporate management, and chinese accounting and auditing. his research topics mainly include corporate management of family businesses, job rotation of auditors, audit quality, and earnings management.

professor su's research has been published in many well-known journals, such as auditing: practice and theory, asia-pacific accounting and economic research, journal of accounting and public policy, international accounting journal, china accounting and finance review, international accounting research, international auditing research, contemporary accounting research, etc.