The questions were announced on Zhang Ye's Weibo.
Question 1: Essay.
The question was as follows:
A young man is wandering around at the beach, looking glum.
"Why the long face?" an old man asks.
The young man explained that even though he had always done his best—in life and his work—he had never gotten recognized or respected.
"Watch carefully." The old man picked up a grain of sand and threw it away. "Can you find that grain of sand?"
The young man smiled wryly and shook his head.
"I have here with me a pearl as well." The old man took out a huge pearl and weighed it in his hand, then proceeded to throw it onto the beach. "Now, that won't be difficult to find, right? Become a pearl and no one will ignore you."
The question was posted on Weibo, line by line.
When many of the netizens read up to here, they smiled.
"This is too simple!"
"This question is a very traditional one."
